We Found Love
by Kiteria
Summary: Life has settled for the foul mouthed miko Xin and her demon Gaara, but the sudden arrival of her friend Saya and his cousin Ryu sets off a chain of events that throws everything out of whack. A co-authored story between me and the amazing fanfiction writer known as TeeBeMe. Please check this out, as well as the other stories we both have.
1. Chapter 1

"Do you really have to go?"

Xin stood with her hands on her hips, glaring at Gaara as he pulled his demonic robes on. He glanced over his shoulder at her and rolled his eyes. "Quit whining, I've left before and you've been fine." He reminded her blandly.  
The miko huffed and played with the end of her ponytail. "Yeah...but every time you leave, some fucked up shit happens and I damn there get my ass handed to me." She snapped acidly. "I'm just going to visit a cousin and I'll be back soon." Gaara reassured her, kissing her on the forehead.

Xin pouted and slowly waved goodbye as she watched him vanish into that freaky portal. Once he was gone, she sighed heavily and glanced around her apartment. Now what the hell was she supposed to do since he was gone?

Xin suddenly scowled and slapped herself. Since when had she grown so damn dependent on a man? What the hell? She was Hyuuga mothafuckin' Xin. She didn't need a man to occupy her time all the damn time. What happened to the strong feminist she had prided herself on being?!

"Get it together, Hyuuga." She mumbled to herself while stomping back into the bedroom. She grabbed her duffle bag and quickly shoved her boxing clothes into it. Once she was finished, she pulled on a pair of sneakers and her jacket and quickly left. She didn't forget to send her sister a text. Just in case she got kidnapped by some bat-shit crazy Ex of Gaara's, Hinata and Naruto would know where she last was.

Xin grinned widely. It was time to box.

* * *

Saya sighed for the umpteenth time as her sister continued to drone on and on about not getting into trouble now that they were finally back in town. She stopped talking her ear off because she had to go answer the phone.

As soon as her sister was out of sight Saya ran to her room, grabbed her favorite black leather jacket her best friend had given her for her birthday back in high school, then slipped out her bedroom window. She jumped down from the second floor and landed in a crouch on the ground below.

She glanced back over her shoulder at the four bedroom apartment she was staying in with her sisters. Sheera would be pissed when she found out Saya had ditched her, but she'd had enough of her eldest sister bitching at her and she was bored so it was time to go find something to do.

* * *

Xin expertly ducked the oncoming punch from her opponent with ease. She rose up swiftly and slammed her gloved fist into his face and followed it up with a knee-jab to his stomach.

She grinned widely as her opponent fell to the mat with a defeated groan.  
"Ey, ey. You're getting better." She told her opponent as he struggled to regain his breath. "Still not good enough to beat you though." He remarked as he slowly pulled himself to his feet and got up. She only let out a laugh and bumped her hip into him. "I've been boxing way too long to just lose to a rookie, no offense."

And it was true. Xin wasn't normally conceited when it came to her abilities, but she knew she had a knack for fighting and was damn there unbeatable at this point. Hell, she even gave Lee a run for his money when he sparred with her. But she was sure he was holding back because he was a demon. Then again, she was holding back her miko abilities so it was all fair.

She had been a boxer since she was eleven and now, ten years later she was an undisputed champ at it. Too bad her parents made her retire before she could even get into it. She remembered being so upset when she told her only best friend that she had to hang up her competitive gloves for good.

"It's been awhile since I saw her. I wonder how she's doing." She mumbled more to herself than to anyone. She hadn't seen her old best friend since she herself had graduated high school and her best friend had left the country for unknown reasons with her two sisters. Xin really missed her sometimes. Especially at a time like this.

"Oi, Xinny. Wanna go a round with me?"

Xin glanced down at the new challenger and shrugged blandly. She loved all the guys at the gym...but none of them excited her anymore. She had beaten them all at least five times now. And even the cocky newcomers were boring as soon as she put them back in their place.

"Let's go."

* * *

Saya looked at the building in front of her and smiled as memories of her and her best friend in high school flashed through her head. They used to come to this gym as soon as school let out, hell there were times when they'd skip school to come here. It was their place and no one could beat them.

_'I wonder if she's still here.'_ Saya wondered to herself before deciding the only way to find out was to go inside. She walked inside and looked around only to stop and stare at the young woman up in the ring with someone. Saya instantly recognized the midnight blue haired, somewhat short woman boxing the man in the ring. She smiled as she walked over and watched as the woman knocked the man down after a few seconds.

She laughed at the look of boredom clearly in the woman's lilac colored eyes. "You haven't changed much since I left, have ya Xinny?" Saya asked her old friend and smiled at the look of shock on her friend's face.

At the sound of her name, Xin glanced quickly out of the corner of her eye to see another woman standing outside of the ring. Forest-green eyes stared into her own light colored eyes and she quickly recognized the black and red streaked hair that only her best friend had.

"Well...I'll be damned..." She mumbled slowly, turning back to her opponent before he got in a lucky punch due to her distraction. She weaved to the side and rushed forward, swinging her leg up to deliver a striking blow to his temple. She rolled her eyes with gloved hands on her hips as he dropped to the ground with a thud.

"Don't get blood all over the mat, ya idiot." She huffed down at him, nudging him with her foot. She turned quickly and ambled over to the edge of the ring with a lazy smirk. She leaned against the ropes and dangled her arms over it, bending forward slightly.

"Look who finally came back to Tokyo. Great to see ya, Saya." She gave a lazy salute and wink. "And if you must know, I've changed a lot since you last saw me. I'm full of surprises, believe me." She chuckled in a good nature but meant every word she said.

Saya couldn't help but smile at Xin's comment. She knew full well what her friend meant. She'd known as soon as she met her friend that she wasn't human, but since Xin didn't seem to know she wasn't going to say anything. "Now that she knows about what she is I wonder if it'd be okay to tell her what I am." Saya wondered to herself before turning her attention back to her friend. "You up for a little rumble to see just how much you've changed?" Saya asked with a smirk, knowing her friend could never say no to a change to fight her, and it was vice versa for her as well.

Xin smiled and motioned for the other woman to join her in the ring. Her eyes stared into Saya, almost as if she was prodding at Saya's soul. She slowly took off her boxing gloves and left her hands covered in the white bandages.

Xin didn't say anything but something seemed off about Saya. Before, she had never noticed. But now that she had awakened her miko lineage and practiced her heritage every other day, she was better at sensing things. She could feel that Saya wasn't human but she didn't have the aura of a demon.

Her gaze became more intense but Xin didn't turn away. She stared at Saya full force and the feeling of her prodding became stronger, almost unbearable. "If you're up to it."

* * *

Meanwhile, Gaara leisurely made his way down a candle light hallway. The kingdom smelled heavily of blood and sand and it didn't bother him at all. But being back in his kingdom after being around Xin in her small apartment felt a lot different. He'd never say it out loud, but he preferred her apartment (and her company) over this lonely kingdom.

He stepped into a room without permission and scoffed, not that he would need permission. He was, after all, the prince of this whole damn place. Across the room studying yellowing scrolls stood a man as tall as him. His hair was a little longer than Gaara's and it was so red that it resembled the color black.  
Relaxed golden eyes looked up at him and a lazy smirk stretched across the person's face.

"Cousin! So you've come!" He exclaimed in a mockingly excited voice. Gaara rolled his eyes and folded his arms across his chest. "You wouldn't stop sending your little messengers, Ryu. What do you want?"

Ryu shook his head at the lack of his cousin's patience. He was always like that, as a kid and clearly the trait followed him into his adult life. "It's been awhile, hasn't it?" He began to say, watching the bored expression of the prince.

"Spit it out before I rip your throat out."

"I've heard from Temari that you've become smitten with a girl. A human."

"Smitten?"

"She said it, not me."

Gaara rolled his eyes again and began to remember just how difficult Ryu could be when he wanted. "I wouldn't say smitten. Her name is Xin. She's a miko." He sighed heavily, wanting to get this over with so he could return to Xin. Hopefully the obnoxious idiot hadn't gotten her ass kidnapped or something.

"Really."

"Ryu..."

"I'd like to meet her."

Gaara only sighed heavily.

* * *

Saya held Xin's gaze. She could feel the small fluctuation of miko energy coming from Xin and she was sure she wasn't even aware of it, or maybe she was. Saya wasn't sure how in-tune to her abilities Xin really was. "As ready as ever." Saya said before she crackled her knuckled and got down into her fighting stance. She smirked at Xin and raised one fist at her, then beckoned for her to come at her. That's all it took for their fight to begin.

Back when they were teenagers, Saya had been the better fighter. She remembered that much. But she had grown a lot during her absence and she knew for a fact that she could probably take Saya down.

At this point, she knew Saya wasn't human for a fact. Her aura just didn't fit that of a human's but it didn't fit a demon's. Whatever the hell she was, Xin wasn't about to back down from a fight. Even if it was from her old best friend who clearly wasn't a human. She wondered briefly what the hell she was before she moved swiftly to start the fight.

She leaned towards Saya's left but suddenly jerked to the right, swinging her foot out in a low kick to trip Saya to the mat. "Don't just sit there." She grinned down at the shocked face of Saya. When they were younger, Xin simply rushed into a fight without preparing for herself. She didn't counter, grapple or trip her opponent up. She simply rushed into a fight throwing fists and kicks.

Xin wouldn't lose.

Saya stared up at her friend in shock. If nothing else had changed her fighting tactic had. "If you insist," She said with a smile before she jumped to her feet and pretended to charge at her head on, before using her slightly enhanced speed to get behind her and swung out with her fist.

She was slightly shocked when Xin turned and caught her fist, but not too much. Xin hadn't been kidding when she'd said she'd changed. Alright, I think it's about time to get serious. Saya thought before grabbing Xin's wrist and using her weight against her to throw her over her shoulder and out of the ring.

She caught onto the ropes before she could go sailing out of the ring. She was a lot quicker than a normal human. Not as fast as Lee, but pretty damn quick. She climbed back into the ring and grinned widely, obviously getting pumped and sensing no threat or danger.

She darted towards Saya, ducking under to get behind her. She slammed her elbow into the middle of Saya's back, sending the other girl stumbling to the ring's rope. She grabbed Saya by her long hair and yanked her backwards on her ass to the mat again. She moved quickly, punching Saya in the crock of her neck and then delivered a kick to Saya's temple.

On a normal human, that punch combined with that kick would knock them unconscious. She's rendered grown men much bigger than her unconscious with that move. But Saya wasn't a normal human and the blows would probably just stun the living hell out of her.  
Saya shook her head to try and get it to stop ringing. Xin's blows had never packed so much of a punch. They didn't hurt per se, but they sure didn't tickle. Saya looked up at

Xin and growled ever so slightly before she pushed herself up from the ground and charged at Xin. She tackled her to the ground and dodged most of her fists. She wanted to see just how far Xin would go before accessing her miko powers to defend herself.

Xin grunted as she was slammed into the hard mat. She tried to push Saya off of her but Saya wasn't budging. She was sure as hell gonna call her fat later on. For now, she needed to focus on getting up. Although she was a well-trained fighter, Saya had inhumane strength due to fact that she wasn't human and Xin was having a hard time getting out of Saya's hold.

She gritted her teeth and concentrated just a tad bit of her miko energy into her elbow. She jerked up, striking Saya in her throat with a slightly glowing elbow. It wasn't enough energy to actually do any harm such as burning Saya's skin, but it shocked the other woman enough to loosen her hold on Xin.

She took her chance and shoved at Saya, pinning her to the mat. She was pretty damn sure Saya knew Xin had used a different kind of energy to get out of the hold but she didn't care too much at the time. If she could sense Saya's true nature, she was sure Saya could do the same for her.

Saya pushed herself up from the mat with her elbows and looked over at her friend in shock. '_There's no denying it now, she knows how to use her powers.' _Saya thought before shaking her head to clear it from the shock of what just happened. "Well Xin, I guess you got this round." Saya said as she got to her feet and dusted herself off.

Xin smiled at Saya and backed off, standing up and rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet. She wasn't fooled; she knew Saya probably knew about her true heritage. She found herself wondering how long Saya had actually known about it.

She leaned in forward and realized just how much shorter she was than Saya. She mentally rolled her eyes; she was shorter than pretty much everyone except for her twin sister. "Do you know?" She whispered to her old best friend with a secretive smile.

Gaara lazily swaggered into Xin's favored gym with his cousin on his heels. He had been whining the whole time about meeting the little woman who had apparently 'tamed his murderous cousin'. Where the hell were people getting this information from anyway?

"Is she pretty? Why is she at a gym?" Ryu babbled behind him with excitement. A lot of things didn't excite Ryu anymore. Life was boring, it droned on endlessly. Everything felt like it was recycled. But now, he was in the human world (for the first time) meeting a woman who had somehow caught his cousin in a deadly game of love.

"Ryu, shut up. I don't remember you talking this much." Gaara growled behind him as he weaved through the other boxers. "Asshole." Ryu grumbled with a scowl. Gaara only sighed heavily and ignored his cousin's jab.

He led his cousin to the ring where he knew his little doll would be. He was surprised to see another woman standing in the ring with her. Xin was the only woman who came to this gym and actually got in the ring. No other woman step foot in here unless they were waiting for one of the guys.

So who the fuck was this woman?  
The woman was taller than Xin with long black and red hair. She was unfamiliar to him but her odd aura was a beacon to him. "A mythical..." Gaara mumbled more to himself than to his cousin. "I thought you said she was a human." Ryu frowned in confusion.  
"She is, the smaller one is Xin. The other one...I don't know who she is. She's a mythical..."

"Really? They're both cute.."

"Ryu..."

Saya tensed for a bit at Xin's question before deciding she might as well tell her. "Since high school to be honest. First day we met." She said and she looked at Xin to see her friend's response.

Xin let the words sink in and nodded slowly while rolling her lips together. Making sure that her voice was extremely low, she continued on. "You ain't human either. But you ain't a demon. Your auras different. Has a different color. What are ya?"

She folded her hands behind her back and smiled sweetly. A front to fool everyone. Her light eyes bore into Saya again, digging deep into her soul and tearing away at any secrets she might have possessed.

Saya smirked at her friend and reached up and ruffled her hair. "Nice try Xinny, but if you want to know you'll have to wait and find out." Saya said then froze when she felt the presence of two demons in the gym. She turned her head and scanned the room to see two men standing in front of the ring looking up at them.

One had dark auburn colored hair, pale skin, sky blue eyes that seemed to be glaring at her, a rather nice build, and a kanji tattoo standing out against his skin on his forehead. The other had golden eyes, messy, emo-styled dark red hair that almost seemed black, the same build as the other one and was wearing a dark green set of weird looking robes. "At least the other one is wearing normal clothes." Saya thought as she looked at the two demons before her.

Xin's smile seemed to turn secretive. "I'll find out soon enough." She promised her old friend while fixing her ruffled hair. "Don't think it changes anything between us. You may not be human but that doesn't scare me at all." Her smile stretched into a grin and she chuckled loudly.

She noticed Saya seemed to be staring at someone outside of the ring and quickly turned into the direction. Xin was quite pleased when her eyes landed on her familiar red head. "Gaara!" She exclaimed loudly, going to the edge of the ring. "You're back early." She stated while climbing down from the ring.

He caught her smaller hand in his much larger hand. "It was a short meeting." He stated simply. "Ah, really? Whose this?" She motioned to the person standing with him. The other male regarded her carefully with an amused expression. "She's so small!" He suddenly shouted loudly.

She raised her eyebrows at his sudden outburst. "Yeah? So what?" She huffed, annoyed that he had said something about her lacking height. "He doesn't mean any harm, doll. He is my cousin, Ryu. He's heard about you and wouldn't shut the hell up unless I brought him here to meet you." Gaara explained to her, watching as Xin sized him up.

"What's the matter with him?"

"What do you mean?"

"Oh c'mon, everyone you know from the demon-world is a whack-job. What's his deal?"

Gaara rolled his eyes but his cousin sidled up closer to Xin with a smile that didn't reach his golden eyes. "Nice to meet you, little one. I'll have you know I'm completely sane." He told her in a matter-of-fact tone while shaking her hand. Xin's expression clearly showed that she wasn't convinced.

"Well, I have a friend too. Saya, come here, would ya?"

"Of course my dear," Saya said as she came up behind her friend. She leveled Ryu with a slight glare telling him to back up off her friend and smiled sweetly when he did so. Then she turned to look at the red head Xin had called Gaara.

She instantly noticed the way their bodies seemed to slowly be moving towards one another and couldn't help but smile at the fact that they didn't even seem to be aware of it. '_Seems like me and Xinny have more to talk about than I first thought.'_ Saya thought to herself.

If Xin noticed how protected she was, she didn't point any of it out. However, Gaara did. He regarded Saya coolly and wondered just how close she was to his little doll. She was extremely protective over the smaller woman and that made him twitch slightly. "Whose your friend, doll?" He asked calmly, although he had a certain look in his eyes. It really wasn't his fault demons were freakishly territorial over whatever they deemed as theirs.

Xin turned slightly with a wide smile and with her other hand, grabbed Saya's arm and pulled the taller woman closer to her. "This is my best friend, Saya. We grew up together but when I graduated high school early, Saya and her sisters left the country. I dunno why they left but she's back." She seemed quite pleased with knowing that her best friend had returned.

"I think we should move this somewhere more...private." Ryu suddenly spoke up, noticing all the odd looks they were gaining from the boxers. "Your freaky cousin is right. Let's go back home to entertain our guests." Xin decided loudly.

"Oi! I'm not freaky!"

"In those robes, you kinda are." Saya said, giving Ryu a once over and smiling to herself. Now that she gave him a second look he was rather hot. "You still live in the same place Xinny?" Saya asked her friend as she walked over to the bench she'd laid her jacket on and bent to pick it up.

Ryu gave Saya a dirty look. "This is coming from the woman with black and red hair.." He mumbled in annoyance. "Let's make nice." Xin said with a hand on her hip. "You mean at my parent's home?" She frowned and titled her head at Saya. "Nope, I moved out when I was eighteen. I have a nice little apartment nice. It's nice and clean...and white..." She began to babble to herself. "I'm not sure if you noticed when you were younger, but she's OCD when it comes to cleaning." Gaara sighed heavily, looking down as the little woman babbled on and on.

"Come along, doll." Gaara began to pull her to the exit, scooping up her duffle bag for her. He motioned for Ryu and Saya to follow him and the miko. "I did notice that when we were younger. And my hair is naturally like this thank you very much." Saya said to Ryu as she slipped her jacket on as she followed Gaara and Xin out the door. "So how's Hina?" Saya asked her friend, deciding to ignore the rather hot, but rude demon named Ryu.

Xin chuckled as Ryu and Saya continued to take shots at one another. "They're like us when we first met." She grinned at Gaara, securing her hold on his arm. "You had a much more foul mouth." Gaara pointed out smartly. "Ey, shut the fuck up, I did not."

"You still do."

Xin shot him a glare but turned to gaze at Saya. "Hinata is doing great. She's got herself a..." She paused for a second. "Boyfriend," She finished a moment later with a secretive chuckle. "How's Star and Sheera? Are they back in Tokyo too?"

"Yeah, Sheera and Star are back with me. You'll never guess where we went?" Saya said, suddenly really excited as she thought of all the places her and her sisters went. "Wait a second, did you say Hinata got herself a boyfriend? Damn, just how much did I miss while I was gone?"

Saya asked, what Xin said earlier having finally clicked in her brain.

Xin smiled widely as she padded in between Gaara and Saya, Ryu swaggered behind, bringing the rear up. She was starting to notice just how tall everyone was compared to her. Had Saya always been this tall?

"Yeah, she's got a boyfriend. His name is Naruto." She told Saya, thinking of the big burly blond. It had been a couple of days since she last saw her sister and Naruto. She wondered how they were doing. She made it a mental note in her head to ask Gaara to take her to Hinata's apartment soon to make sure the two were still alright.

"Naruto? Uzumaki Naruto? He's with this Hinata woman you speak of?" Ryu asked from behind, causing Xin and Gaara to glance behind them to look at him. "He's quite smitten with her." Gaara told him shortly. "Hinata is my sister." She added on.

"I can't wait until you tell me where you've been...and what exactly you are." Xin chuckled and turned back to look at Saya. "You can sense her?" Gaara frowned and looked down at her. "Yeah, her aura is a different color. Humans have light blue auras, demons have dark red auras, and mikos have white auras. But Saya's aura is a very light red aura, it's almost pink." The small miko started to explain, leading them all into a very large apartment building.

Saya frowned at Xin's description of the color of her aura. "Please don't say my aura looks pink. If anyone's aura would look pink it would be Star." Saya said with a shudder. She couldn't stand the color pink.

"As for where I've been, you'll be happy to know I went to China. Star and I had a race from one end of the Great Wall to the other. I won of course." Saya said with a smirk.  
Xin let out a laugh at Saya's disgust for the color of pink. "Star's aura would probably be a bright pink and Sheera's would be a dark green or dark blue, I think. Yours is red but it's a very light red." Xin hummed as she led the way up the stairs and down to the end of the hall where her apartment was.

Gaara entered first, eyes searching the apartment. "I can smell someone else's scent..." He mumbled slowly as Xin kicked off her sneakers. "I was alone the whole time you were gone." She told him, glancing around the apartment. Ryu frowned at the couple's antics.

"Is something wrong?"

"Demons don't like me." Xin sighed heavily, running her fingers through her thick hair. Ryu's frown deepened in confusion. "It's not that all demons don't like her." Gaara snorted. "Naruto likes you." He added with a smirk. Xin rolled her eyes and folded her arms. "That doesn't count!"

"Xinny, mind telling me what's been going on while I was gone?" Saya asked as she kicked off her boots and followed them inside. Xin pulled her hair nervously and sighed heavily. "I'll tell you what's been going on." She began to say and then glanced at Gaara. He shrugged and then nodded, giving her the permission to tell Saya what's been happening.

"After I shower though. I'm sweaty." She pouted and went to her room to gather a new outfit to wear. "You three behave, you hear? I just got my apartment to fuckin' sparkle and if you so much as smudge anything, I purify the living shit out of you." She gave them all a serious look and then slipped into the bathroom to leave them to do whatever.

"Bitch, your short little ass couldn't purify me if you wanted!" Saya shouted playfully after her friend and smiled when she heard a stream of profanities coming from Xin's direction.

"Right then."

Saya said, ignoring her friend and turning to look at the two demons that were standing in the room with her. "We weren't really properly introduced. My name is Saya Sukioshii and I'm sure by now you two know I'm not human." Saya said towards Gaara and Ryu as she walked over to the white couch in Xin's living room and plopped down. She propped her feet up on the coffee table and got comfortable.

Gaara eyed Saya and then the bathroom. When he heard the shower start up, he relaxed. "We can sense what you are but I'm sure Xin is probably listening to what we're saying so I won't say it out loud." Gaara smirked. In the bathroom, Xin screamed out an annoyed 'fuck you!' to Gaara.

"So, you're friends with the little miko." Ryu sat down next to her and did the same to get comfortable. He thought Saya had a serious attitude problem, but she was cute enough to entertain him while he waited on the smaller woman to finish.

Saya glanced at Ryu from the corner of her eyes but didn't say anything on the fact he was so close to her. She didn't really like guys getting close to her ever since the incident with Jayden a few years back. Just thinking of it made her growl slightly.

"Yes, I am. Been friends with Xinny since freshmen year of high school. She sure knew how to run shit, but if you had been there the first time me and her had met you wouldn't be able to understand how we became friends." Saya said with a giggle as she remembered the first time she met Xin.

She'd been standing in the middle of the school's courtyard yelling at the top of her lungs screaming she ran shit and anyone who wanted to challenge her should speak up. Of course Saya had done just that because she hated anyone being so loud and they immediately started duking it out.

Sheera and Star had to pull her off the little woman and Hinata had pulled Xin back. When they looked at each other they couldn't help but burst out laughing. Xin had a busted lip and a bruise on the side of her face and Saya had a blackening eye and her nose was bleeding. After that they became the best of friends and ran the school together. You fuck with one of them and you fucked with the other.

Back then, Xin had to admit, Saya was a pretty tough girl. That excited Xin. Before then, no one really said anything to Xin about what she did and what she claimed. So when Saya stepped up and promptly told Xin to 'shut the fuck up' and that she would challenge her, which had piqued her interest in the taller woman.  
Xin had kicked her shoe off into Saya's face.

Saya then tackled the shit out of Xin, which caught her off guard. She had thrown a couple punches back when Saya's sisters pulled her off of her and Hinata wrapped her hands around Xin to stop Xin from going after Saya.

The two had been stuck together like glue ever since.

And then Xin went off to college and Saya decided to travel the world and they lost contact. But now she was back and things were different. For one, Xin discovered her miko heritage and had blooming relationship with Gaara. What the hell had Saya been up to? She needed to finish quickly and question the shit out of her best friend.

"And how long have you known of Xin's heritage?" Gaara asked as he leaned against the wall across from them. Saya glanced at him and mentally rolled her eyes at him.  
Protective. Saya thought before smiling at him.

"Since day one. Mythicals have an inept ability to sense the presence and auras of different beings. This is why I knew immediately that you two were demons, well, that and Fido here was wearing those stupid ass robes." Saya said pointing her thumb at Ryu and smirked when he glared at her.

Ryu growled in annoyance, he was really starting to think he would be better off if he just killed this damn mythical. His robes weren't stupid. "They're robes meant only for royalty, you disgusting little peasant." He shot back at her. He noticed his cousin glancing between the two of them.

"And you have no ill intentions towards Xin?" Gaara asked seriously. It wasn't his fault that he was being so protective towards the small female. The way he saw it, everyone was an enemy until they proved they weren't there to cause harm.

There were too many people out to draw Xin's blood and he'd be damned if he was stupid enough to give Saya a free pass just because she was an old friend. Sasori had been an old friend of his until they grew up and he became (in Xin's words) his Father's bitch.

"Oi, calm the fuck down Fluffy, I was only kidding. I know how the demon world works, so don't get your panties in a wad." Saya said towards Ryu before turning to look at Gaara.

"As for your question, I'd rather have that bastard Jayden come back into my life, fuck me over and slowly pull out my entrails only to make a noose out of them and hang me from the rafters back in our high school for all to see than do anything that would hurt Xin. She's one of the few people I hold dear to me and I'll fuck up anybody who tries to hurt her. Demon, Mythical, and Human alike." Saya said honestly. They might not understand why Jayden was important to prove her point, but Xin, Sheera, and Star sure as hell did.  
Ryu simply glared at her. Yeah, she was way too difficult and needed an attitude adjustment. "Whatever you say, woman." He gave her a secretive smirk and simply folded his arms across his chest and said no more.

Gaara regarded Saya quietly, letting her words sink in. If what the woman said was true, then he really didn't have to worry about her hurting Xin. But he wasn't sure who the Jayden person was and what he had to do with Saya, but he took her word for it. He had to wonder, perhaps Saya knew the name of Xin's first boyfriend who had raped her.

Mentally, he grinned evilly. He was going to find that fucker...

The bathroom door opened and Xin padded out, her hair dripping wet and soaking the material of her thin tank top. She stepped right into the tense conversation but didn't say anything, she simply smiled.

"So. Saya. Spit it out, what're you?"

Saya looked up at her short friend and smiled mischievously as she got to her feet and leaned in close to her friend. "If you really want to know my dear Xinny..." She said trailing off as she leaned in further to whisper in her friend's ear, a smirk playing on her lips.  
"You'll have to strip for me." She said and felt both demons in the room tense at her words and mentally laughed. Saya didn't roll that way and neither did Xin, but that didn't stop them from playing around and acting like stupid idiots sometimes, and four years apart was too long in Saya's opinion.

Xin's smile stretched into a grin. Ryu seemed quite surprised and Gaara's face started to twitch clearly. Hands went to her hips and slipped the hem of her shorts down just a little bit to allow pale skin to peek out.

"You know I'm not afraid to do it." She whispered just as low. But it didn't matter seeing as how Ryu and Gaara heard anyway. "Xin..." Gaara began to warn her but Xin kept her eyes trained solely on Saya.

Xin was comfortable enough with her sexuality and plus, Saya was her best friend. It wasn't like Saya hadn't seen her body the same for her. Plus, they both had nearly same the body-type. Saya's hips were a little wider and Xin's breasts were a little bigger, they had the same type.

And adding to that, she was with Gaara. Sorta-ish. They hadn't really discussed what they were to one another. "Well, this is taking a sudden turn that I quite like..." Ryu grinned.  
Saya's smirk fell and turned into a scowl as she turned and growled at Ryu. All playfulness gone.

She could tell Xin was with Gaara and was happy that way and she didn't take too kindly to how Ryu had said that. She knew what Xin had gone through and Xin had been there when Saya had that incident with Jayden.

Gaara glared at his cousin and sighed heavily, shaking his head. He had the tendency to just say whatever the fuck came to mind. It wasn't always good but his cousin didn't really think things through. He just spoke.

Xin's eyes became extremely serious in the next second. She patted Saya in a comforting way and another smile crossed her face. This one was fake and slightly creepy. Gaara eyed her carefully as she made her way over to his cousin.

She leaned over the back of the couch and placed her hand on his shoulder. "You talk a lot, weirdo." She told him a sweet voice, her hand glowing a light purple. Ryu let out a shocked cry as pain spread through his shoulder.

He sprang away from her hand and turned to glare at her. "You don't know me or Saya well enough. Keep those fuckin' comments to yourself or I'll burn a fuckin' hole through your shoulder. Got it?"

Saya couldn't help but smile at her friend. Xin had changed a lot in the four years they'd been apart, but she was still Xin. You fuck with her friends and she'll find some way to fuck you up.

"Hey Xinny, I'm hungry. You mind if I make me something to eat?" Saya asked as she moved towards Xin's kitchen. She knew how Xin was about her kitchen, but Xin knew Saya could cook like a God no matter what she was given to work with.

"Gaara."

"Hm?"

"She just attempted to purify me." Ryu pointed to Xin, who was still standing behind the couch with a smile. Her hands at her sides twitched every so often and were glowing an eerie purple glow. It was odd to see the little woman look so frightening.

"That's what mikos do." Gaara shrugged in disinterest. He went over to the armchair and sat down on it, motioning for Xin to come towards him. The glow on her hands died down slowly and she moved towards him, sitting on the arm of the chair.

"Sure." She looked at Saya, her smile becoming real again. "Just don't fuck my kitchen up." Xin told her. She knew Saya was a great cook (not as great as her...hey, she was conceited) but she didn't like people using her kitchen. "We both know I can take you down this time."

"Bitch you can try. But seriously, I promise not to fuck up your precious little kitchen." Saya said with a smirk as she moved around in Xin's kitchen and started to make baked chicken and pulled out a head of lettuce to make a salad. "Please tell me you have ranch." Saya said to Xin as she put the lettuce back in the fridge, and pulled a plate and a bowl down from the cabinets.

"Whatever, bitch." Xin snorted with a grin. She slipped off the armchair and settled in Gaara's lap. She grabbed his hand and began to play with his fingers, still grinning as she did so. Gaara looked down at her in interest but didn't stop her.

"I prefer Italian dressing." She huffed. "But look in the fridge behind the milk. I mean, you are digging through my kitchen like you're at home. Might as well." Xin shrugged her shoulders and continued playing with the demon's hand.

"Amazing, you're actually allowing someone to use your pristine kitchen without foaming at the mouth?" Gaara teased her lightly. Xin glanced up at him and frowned. "Gaara, he almost burned my kitchen down. He deserved the slap to the head. And I wasn't foaming!"

"You almost burned his skin off."

"He deserved it, goddammit!"

Ryu chuckled and got up, joining Saya in the kitchen. "It's quite amazing." He began to say to her back, already knowing that she would turn around and scowl at him full-force. "I mean, it's amazing how my cousin is acting with the miko." He began to say. "I've never see him like this..." He trailed off and glanced at Gaara and Xin.

"You ever see the miko this happy?"

Saya decided to let Ryu's earlier comment go and be civil towards him.  
"Can't really say I have." Saya said as she bent over and reached into the back of the fridge to pull out the bottle of ranch in the back.

"Then again, I've been gone for about four years." Saya said as she straightened back up and walked over towards Ryu since he was standing next to her bowl of lettuce. She set the bottle down then walked over to the oven and checked on her chicken.

She cut off the oven and grabbed an oven mitt and pulled out her food, slid it on the plate and quickly washed up the dishes before grabbing a fork from the drawer, picked up her plate, bowl of lettuce, and balanced the bottle of ranch on top of it all and walked over to the dining table and set it all down and sat down.

"So, you're Gaara's cousin?" Saya asked as Ryu followed her and sat down in a chair across from her.  
Ryu watched her move around the kitchen and quietly followed her to the dining room table. He soundlessly dropped into his chair and waited for Saya to speak first. He was surprised when she asked about his relation to Gaara.

"Yeah." He nodded. "His Mother was my Father's sister. But they're both dead now. I haven't seen him in awhile and someone told me he was in the human world with a human woman. I had to come here and see with my own eyes what type of woman the miko is. Gaara was never the easiest person to get along with or even be around."

Saya smiled at that.

"Everyone has their own demons that haunt their past and won't let them move on. But if someone's able to find the one person to make that easier then I consider them lucky. I know I haven't found them, though my sisters and Xin do make it slightly easier." Saya said before she started to eat her food as she tried to keep her mind from going to all the shit she's been through.

First with the vampires killing her family, then with Jayden being the first person she really trusted outside of her family only to betray that trust and rape her. Her life seemed like it would never turn around, then she wound up going to a new high school and meeting Xin. Since then her life has gotten better. It still had its downs, but it wasn't nearly as bad.

"It's true, I just didn't expect Gaara to find a woman who would look past everything. It's amazing, I think." Ryu shrugged his shoulder and glanced out of the kitchen to the couple again. Xin was still playing with Gaara's hands but she was humming softly. Gaara seemed to be relaxed from her humming and buried his face into her hair.

"I'm pretty jealous, to be honest with you, Saya." He turned back the mythical in front of him. Ryu was alone most of his life. Except for his cousins and Uncle, he didn't have anyone he trusted. He grew up isolated and before, he had been fine with that.

But for some reason, seeing his cousin actually content with that woman, it set off a spark in him. He wanted something like that. It didn't matter what she was, a demon, a human, miko, or mythical. He wanted that happiness.

Saya mentally nodded as she glanced into the living room at her best friend and Gaara. She could see how relaxed he was and how happy Xin seemed to be. She was humming for Kami's sake. The last time Saya heard Xin hum was when she was counting the money they'd gotten from the time they broke into Sheera's ex-boyfriend's house after he called her a whore.

Saya finished her food and took her dishes to the sink. She washed them and put them up before turning around and leaning her back against the wall and letting her hair shadow part of her face. She was glad that her friend seemed to have found a good person to be with, but seeing her that way while she was so alone kinda hurt.  
Ryu regarded her quietly. He had learned from his eldest cousin, Temari, that women were very emotional and fickle. And this woman, that he barely knew, seemed to be the most fickle and emotional woman he had ever met. She was extremely snide as well.

She was still pretty damn gorgeous though.

"Is something bothering you, Saya?"

Saya was shocked that Ryu seemed to be able to pick up on how she felt, but she didn't know him enough to let him into her life. So she did what she did best, she faked it. She lifted her head and put on a fake smile.  
"Yeah, I was just remembering something." She lied easily before walking past him into the living room where Xin and Gaara were. "Alright Xinny. You've showered, I've fed myself, and we're inside. You owe me an explanation as to what's been going on while I was gone. Do I need to get Sheera to get her bi-colored eyed ass over here and put a protection spell on your apartment?" Saya asked as she moved and sat back down on the couch, effectively pushing her feelings of being left behind while everyone else was finding happiness with others to the very back of her mind.

Ryu didn't believe Saya's weak lie but simply sighed and followed after her. It wasn't like he could force whatever was bothering her out of her. He didn't know her well enough. And besides, she would probably say something snide to him. Instead, he simply followed after her.

Gaara watched with careful eyes as Ryu sat with Saya on the couch. Obviously his cousin was crushing on the mythical but said nothing. It wasn't his concern if his cousin liked the closed off woman

Xin shifted in his lap and let out a tiny bell. "Oh no." She shook her head. "You're going to tell me what you are before I say anything about my life. We've been friends for years, I deserve to know what you truly are, ne?"

Saya sighed at the stubborn little woman sitting on Gaara's lap.

"Xin, I don't like telling people what I am considering I'm the last of my kind." Saya said, calling her friend by her more used name rather than her preferred name for her since she was being serious.

Xin's eyes steeled over. Saya had kept her in the dark about what she truly was for years. She wanted to know. She knew Saya was serious and was sensitive over the topic but she was going to get something out of her.

"I don't believe you must be specific." Ryu spoke up, hoping she didn't offend Saya in some way. "You know what I won't tell you a damn thing unless you say something." Xin huffed. Saya looked from Xin to Ryu, then back to Xin.

"It would be easier for you to believe me if I showed you rather than told you, but if it'll make you happy." Saya said and smirked just slightly when Xin nodded vigorously. "Sheera is a Witch, Star is a Pixie, and I'm a Siren." Saya said, deciding to tell her what her sisters were since she knew Xin would ask anyways.

Xin mulled over what Saya had told her. "Wow, Star makes so much sense now that I know she's a pixie. I mean, what normal person could be so damn happy all the time?" She laughed, leaning her head on Gaara's shoulder.

"Now...my story." She sighed heavily. "Seems as if you don't want to share your story, miko." Ryu commented tonelessly. "I don't...and I have a name, y'know! It's not miko, damn!"

Saya smiled to herself as Xin snapped at Ryu. This is why she was glad she'd met Xin. No matter what kind of shit she'd been through she could always manage to make her smile.

After Xin calmed down from yelling at Ryu to use her name she started telling Saya all that had happened since she graduated high school. From her going to college to when she first made the deal with Gaara so he wouldn't wipe out the entire human race. Then how she'd met Naruto, got kidnapped by one of Gaara's crazy ex-girlfriends, and everything that's happened up until when she walked into the gym and challenged her to a fight.

"Damn girl, you've been busy." Saya said with a smirk. "And your dad has some major fucking issues by the way." She said pointing at Gaara.

"I was wondering why Emiko tried to kill you." Ryu frowned and shook his head with a sigh. "Don't forget the part where she tried to have Sasori rape me." Xin mumbled, her expression suddenly somber. Gaara patted her leg and then tightened his grip on her. "I know, doll has told me a million times that he's crazy." Gaara replied dryly.

"Well...he is..."

"Would it make you feel better if I found this motherfucker and kicked his ass?"  
Saya offered dead serious. She would have hunted that bitch Emiko down and killed her if Gaara hadn't already done so. "He'd kill you." Xin said and Saya scoffed at her friend.  
"Please Xin, Mythicals are about as easy to kill as Demons are, but we don't get hurt by Mikos. This is why I said you couldn't purify me if you wanted." Saya said and smiled at the look on her best friend's face.

"Besides, I'd rather have you not get in the middle of this." Xin sighed heavily. "And Gaara has been doing a great job protecting me." She beamed happily at him. "I don't need my miko powers. I'm a fighter trained to counter and subdue my opponents. Pretty sure that if I can box a demon, I can box you. plus, I'm pretty handy with a bow and arrow."

Saya just smiled at her friend. "Alright Xinny, I'll stay out of it if that's what you want. But if any of them show up again and I hear about it I'm going after their asses. I can guarantee you that." She said and waited for Xin's response.

No matter what she said, if they came after her friend again she would be going after someone's ass. You don't fuck with her family, and you definitely don't go after her friends. They were practically family in her book.

"There's no stopping you, huh?" Xin sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "I can take care of myself, you know." She added in quickly, pouting. "The scent lingering here...it smells like Sasori and Deidara." Ryu said out of nowhere, glancing around.

"I'm not surprised. Father likes sending Sasori because he can get on my fucking nerves. And he makes her nervous." Gaara motioned down to Xin, who blushed. "Can you blame me? He tried to kill me, he threatened me and was even going to rape me. Like, I'm not gonna piss rainbows when I see him!"

At that Saya burst out laughing making both demons in the room look at her weird, but Xin just smiled. It was rare to have Saya laugh, actually laugh. She hadn't done so since senior year in high school after she met Xin.

"Kami, I forgot how creative that fucked up little mind of yours really is Xinny." Saya said with a smile as she got her laughter under control. She glanced at the clock on the wall behind Xin and Gaara and her eyes widened.

"Ah fuck!" She said before jumping up over the back of the couch and heading for the door. She grabbed her jacket and held it in her teeth as she bent over and pulled on her boots.

Xin joined in on the laughter, truly missing all the old times she had as a teenager with Saya. Life had been so crazy, seeing a familiar face comforted her. She stopped her laughter when Saya scrambled to the door suddenly.

"You snuck off without telling Sheera, didn't ya?"

"Shut up Xin." Saya said as she stood back up and slipped on her jacket.

"It was real good seeing you again. Next time you'll have to call Hina so I can see her again too. That, and I've got to meet this Naruto and lay down some ground rules." She said as she opened the door.

"Nice meeting you two. Gaara, your father is a fucked up little power hungry asshole, and you may have been sent to kill everyone, but you make Xin happy so you're alright in my book."

She said before turning to look at Ryu who was looking at her.  
"I don't know you all that well, but you're pretty cute." She said before giving him a smile.  
"For a demon." She said before giving Xin her signature wave and slipping out the door and sprinting home before her sister pinned her to the ceiling again and let her stay up there all night. Not fun, not fun.

"What an interesting girl." Ryu remarked after Saya had left. "She's a little rough around the edges but she's a sweetheart once you get to know her." Xin replied with a shrug, snuggling into Gaara's neck with a sigh.

"Yes. She said I was cute..."


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Hey guys, we're back. hope you all like the chapter. Tee and I wrote it together and she edited the format. Hopefully I didn't screw it up when posting. Please review.

* * *

Saya sighed as she rubbed the back of her neck. Sheera had been pissed when she got back and, just like she'd thought, had stuck her to the ceiling for the entire night. "Fucking witch," Saya mumbled to herself as she headed into a small cafe to get something to eat since she didn't want to deal with her sisters.

* * *

Xin hummed softly to herself as she whirled around the kitchen, preparing a tasty treat for the demons in her living room. "Cousin? What is your miko doing?" Ryu asked as a sweet aroma wafted in from the living room.

"She's gonna bitch you out if you keep calling her 'miko', you know. She's baking sweets. She likes to bake and they're not too bad, actually..." Gaara replied in a mellow tone as Xin dropped something and squealed in shock.

* * *

Saya grudgingly paid the prick behind the counter the money for her Dr. Pepper and Twix. He had tried flirting with her and she tried to nicely ignore him, but then he called her shit like 'sweet cakes' and 'honey' and it reminded her of that night with Jayden.

_'Just get over it, Saya.'_

Saya thought to herself as she walked back outside and took a bite of her Twix. She glanced around and decided since she didn't really have anything to do that she'd go and visit Xin again. This time she wouldn't have to bolt.

* * *

Xin dropped the hot pan on the counter and groaned loudly. She had somehow managed to burn her hand when she grabbed the pan. "It's done!" She called sourly while turning away to the sink. She turned the water on and shoved her burned and red hand under the cool water.

"You burned yourself?" Ryu came into the room and grabbed her hand from under the water. "Yeah, happens all the time. Don't worry about it," She waved Ryu's concern off with her good hand.

* * *

Saya stopped in front of Xin's apartment door and contemplated on just walking in, then remembered the time she'd done that when they were younger and Xin had bitched her out. Xin had always been crazy about things like that. Don't leave her place in a mess and always knock before coming into her place. Saya really wasn't in the mood to be bitched at by her short friend so she knocked a couple of times, than shifted her weight to her left leg as she took another bite out of her Twix.

Xin waved Ryu off and breezed towards the door to open the door. "It's fine, Ryu. Really. It's not that bad." Xin blew on her burning hand and swung the door open. "Saya! I wasn't expecting you here today. Wassup?"

Saya's eyes instantly zoned in on Xin's red hand and they narrowed dangerously, but she knew Xin well enough to know not to comment. "Nothing, I was close to kicking some prick's ass at the cafe down the street though." Saya said as she walked into Xin's apartment and finished off the first bar of her Twix and started on the second one.

Xin sighed heavily and shook her head. She eased the door shut behind her and followed Saya. "I'm sure he didn't mean any harm in flirting with you, Saya." She chuckled and looked down at her hand. "At this rate, you'll become an old maid by yourself. You'll be the type to scream at the little neighborhood kids who walk all over your garden. Maybe you'll own a bunch of cats too. I like birds though so I'm not sure how often I'll visit you when you become the crazy old cat lady..." She giggled and blew on her hand.

"Bitch please. The day I become the crazy old cat lady is the day you dye your hair orange and run around screaming you're a soul reaper sent to defend the world against monsters in white masks." Saya said, referring to one of her sister's favorite shows featuring a teenager named Ichigo and a lot of other things she didn't really pay attention to.

Xin grinned and flipped her hair over her shoulder. "Oi, who says I wouldn't be willing to do that? I like Bleach." She shrugged and went back to the kitchen. "Besides, I dyed my hair green for Halloween some years ago." She told Saya with her grin still in place.

Her hand was really starting to bother her, it was starting to throb and she noticed the skin of her palm becoming puffy with a welt. She mumbled to herself and simply stuck her hand under the kitchen's faucet again. "You should bring Star and Sheera by soon. Do they know we've met up again after all these years?" Saya smiled at her friend as she followed Xin into the kitchen and leaned against the counter and sipped on her Dr. Pepper.

"No. Sheera, the little witch, wouldn't even hear me out last night when I tried to explain where I was. She just decided it would be fun to fucking pin me to the damn ceiling for the whole night." Saya said with a frown as she watched her friend tend to her hand.  
Xin withdrew her hand from the water and looked down at it distastefully.

"Is that so?" She mumbled, wondering why the hell this burn was bothering her so much. "Maybe I should call her later and explain it to her. She liked me better." She grinned widely, turning to stare at Saya's drink. That damn siren knew she loved Dr. Pepper.

"Hell, maybe she could even do something about this burn." Saya noticed Xin was eyeballing her drink and sighed as she held it out to her. "We can go whenever you're ready. Star said something about going shopping since we were finally back in Tokyo. Did you know, that girl had to buy an outfit from every place we went? She's got one from China, America, Italy, Europe, Asia, Australia, Antarctica, Iceland, Norway, Germany, Ireland, England, and fucking Nashville Tennessee." Saya said, listing only a few of the places her and her sisters had gone to over the past four years.

Xin grinned and with her good hand, took the drink from her friend. She gulped down a good portion of it before handing it back to her. "I'd love to go to Italy and just shop." She mumbled more to herself. She remembered a time when she actually gave a fuck about her fashion-sense when she was teenager. But now, she hadn't really cared too much about any of that. She was surprised at just how much she's changed.

"We can go now, my hand is seriously bothering me and I wouldn't want Sheera to pin you to the ceiling every time you sneak out." She chimed sweetly, wrapping her burned hand quickly. "Oi! Gaara! Stay here with Ryu, would ja? We're gonna go visit her sisters really quick!" She called to the demon in question.

"You're just going to go by yourself?"

"I have Saya..."

"Doll, you know that's not a good idea..."

Xin sighed and waved his warning off. "What's the worst that could happen? We'll be in a crowded place, no ones gonna try to fuckin eat my soul in a crowded area!"

Saya stared at her friend in question. She started to open her mouth to ask, but Xin cut her off and said they'd talk later. "Later!" Saya called out as she dragged Xin out of her apartment by the arm and they started walking down the street back to the apartment Saya shared with her sisters. "So, exactly how long have you and Gaara been together? And don't leave anything out." She said, looking at Xin from the corner of her eye as they walked.

Xin waved sweetly to the two demons occupying her apartment as Saya dragged her out. She started to follow her once her arm was released. She shoved her good hand into the pocket of her jeans hummed softly.

"Eh...what's it been...a year or so? Yeah, that sounds about right." She beamed happily at the mention of the redheaded demon. Saya noticed and felt a small pang of jealousy. She wanted what her friend had, but she knew she'd probably never get it.

"He really makes you happy doesn't he?" Saya asked with a rare, genuine smile towards her high school friend as they walked up the steps to her apartment. Saya didn't really live that far away from Xin's apartment.

Xin glanced at her friend but nodded, a slight blush dusting over her face. "He used to piss me the fuck off. I swear to baby Jesus, I wanted to fuckin' kick him in his head until he blacked out. But then...with everything we've been through, I ended up falling for him. He still pisses me off now...but hey, whattya gonna do?" She gave a cheesy grin. "Oh wow...you don't live too far from me..." Saya couldn't help but laugh at her friend as she explained the relationship between her and Gaara.

"Yeah. Come on, let's get my sister to look at your hand before it scars." Saya said before pushing the door open and leading the way inside.  
"Sheera!" Saya called out as she and Xin walked into the rather big kitchen of the apartment and sat at the island. "What!?" They heard Sheera shout back from upstairs. "Get ya ass down here! Xinny's come to visit and we need your help with somethin!" Saya shouted and glanced over at Xin to see her shaking her head and couldn't help but smile.

"What did you two do this time?" Sheera asked as she came down the stairs and walked into the room. Her white hair was pulled up into its usual twin pigtails while her bangs hid her left eye.

"Sheera! Great to see you too!" Xin exclaimed happily and a bit loudly. "What do ya mean what did we do 'this time'? I'll have you know I've matured a lot since you last saw me before you vanished into thin fuckin' air!" Xin insisted with a grin, sitting next to Saya and unwrapping her blistering hand.

"I burned the living fuck out of my hand today. Usually stuff like this doesn't bother me but this shit is bugging me. Think you can do anything to help?" Sheera narrowed her eyes at her sister when she realized Xin seemed to know and Saya simply shrugged her sister's glare off.

"Yeah, let me see it." She said as she stepped closer to Xin. She took her hand and hovered hers above it before letting her hand glow a light blue. Saya smiled at the look of shock on Xin's face as the blistered skin on her burned hand slowly started to heal and return to its normal color.

"There." Sheera said as she cut off her power and stepped back, letting Xin's hand drop to her lap and turning to Saya. "You need to stop sneaking off. We may be back in Tokyo, but that doesn't make it okay for you to-" Sheera said, and started to lecture her sister, but Xin cut her off, coming to Saya's rescue.

Xin wasn't as surprised as she should have been. If demons were capable of healing, why wouldn't mythicals be able to do it also? She smiled softly as the blistered skin ebbed away and the bubbly redness faded back to her pale complexion. "Thank you." She hummed gratefully, flexing her healed hand.

She shook her head, noticing Sheera was about to go off on Saya. Not wanting the sisters to start bickering, she quickly got in between the oncoming argument. "Ne, ne. She didn't do anything bad, Sheera. She was only visiting me and some houseguests. No need for the claws to come out. I don't think you should be so mad at her, you guys did vanish out of nowhere without any word." She quickly defended her old best friend.

"Come to think of it...you haven't told me why you left in the first place, Saya…"  
Saya quickly looked away from her friend's prying eyes and started twirling a strand of her black and red hair around a finger.

"Ehh..." Xin stared blankly at Siren, clearly displeased with her reaction. "Saya..." She trailed off slowly. "What are you hiding from me?"

"Jayden," Saya said quietly. "He showed up on graduation day and tried to force himself on me again. I...I couldn't move, all my confidence and smart comments went right out the window the moment he opened his mouth. It was like I was fourteen all over again." Saya explained before lifting her eyes and looking up at her friend, knowing she'd understand.

Xin frowned, thinking hard. By the time Saya had graduated high school, Xin had already been a college girl. She tried to remember the events of Saya's graduation and if she had spotted Jayden being there or if Saya had been acting strange. She knew what it was like to feel that way. To feel weak and helpless and like no one could help her. She could understand what she felt but she found herself almost angry at Saya. How could she just leave like that without telling her why? She could've helped her best friend. She wouldn't of had a problem tracking Jayden down and boxing the hell out of that fucker until he was bloody and bruised.

"Because he showed up...you left town? Without even telling anyone? Why didn't you tell me?" She demanded to know, standing up with a tense body. To be honest, she thought Saya leaving town had been her fault. Perhaps because she moved on in to college and didn't spend enough time with her. Or maybe she boxed too much and partied too much. She remembered feeling so alone without her best friend. She had thought of endless reasons why Saya left.

Sure, she had Hinata. But it wasn't the same as having Saya. She and Saya were alike, two rebellious souls. Not once did they ever judge one another. They had their petty arguments but they had been best friends.

And then Saya left.

"Xin I-" Saya started to explain herself, but Sheera cut her off. "It was actually my decision to leave, Xin. She had locked herself up in her room as soon as we got home and Star wanted to go get you because she knew you could help, but I knew Saya had to get away from him and learn to be strong again. So if you want to be upset with anyone, be upset with me." Sheera said, leveling Xin with a serious stare, both her eyes showing through her snow white hair.

Xin held Sheera's stare without a problem. She had gone through too much to be afraid of Sheera now. She had knocked on death's door more than three times in the past year. Sheera's stares couldn't place any fear or nervousness in her heart like it could have done years ago. The older woman was nothing compared to staring Death in the face.

"If you think staring me down is going to do anything to me, you're wrong Sheera." She told her calmly. "I have a lot of respect for you Sheera, but this doesn't concern you at the moment," She continued evenly, trying her best not to disrespect the older witch.  
"Saya," The anger was gone from her voice. She knew getting angry and yelling wouldn't help anything so she tried to control her temper. Saya's emotional stability was a lot more fragile than hers even though the siren probably would never admit it.

"Leaving town, traveling all over the world...did that make you strong again? If Jayden was here at this very moment, you could handle it right? Please tell me it was worth it.." Xin trailed off, staring at Saya. Perhaps she had been so angry with Saya because she left Xin by herself to face everything alone. Her own experience with being raped, being used, spiraling into drugs and then crashing into a coma that left her in an unconscious state for a month.

While Saya ran from her problems by traveling (courtesy of Sheera, apparently) Xin was forced to deal with all of her inner demons and torments by herself until Gaara came along. Saya vanished when they were sixteen and Gaara crashed into her life when she was twenty. Damn there five years she had to live with her secrets. She just hoped it had all been worth it for Saya.

Saya met her friend's gaze and nodded. "It helped surprisingly. I learned a lot of things, and if I were to see Jayden right now I think I'd be able to deal with him. I'm sorry I left you alone Unxinnu, I really am." Saya said, using Xin's real name to show just how sorry she was.

"Don't call me that." She mumbled more to herself than to Saya. She hated hearing her real name. It made her remember being a troubled teenager being scolded by her parents.

She felt a tingling at the back of her neck and she glanced around. She had the sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach. Carefully, the little miko got up and sidled closer to the window. With narrowed eyes, she peered out of the window and saw nothing but Xin knew better. "If you think you're able to deal with him, then fine." She said slowly, turning back to the two sisters.

"Xin..." Saya said, not wanting her friend to be mad at her, but not knowing how to make things better. She hadn't wanted to leave, but Sheera had been convinced it would help and hadn't really given her a choice. "Hm?" She almost seemed distracted by whatever was hiding outside. Warning signals were going off in her head and every so often, she felt a strange demonic spike. She cursed to herself, damning herself for having the most rotten luck. The last thing she needed was a demon to come crashing through trying to kill her. Saya and Sheera already had enough to deal with, they didn't need anything that came with Xin's whacky ass life.

"It's fine, Saya. Really." She called to Saya, the tips of her fingers glowing an eerie purple. Saya finally picked up on the fact Xin seemed distracted and kept looking out the window. "Xin...what's going on? You see something?" She asked as she moved over to look out the window. Her eyes narrowed as she felt the presence of demons, but she couldn't tell how many.  
"I hope to hell you're not thinking I'm gonna hide away in my room while you deal with them." She said, turning to look at her shorter friend. "Huh?" She blinked in confusion and then shook her head. Her eyes strayed back towards outside again and she knotted her glowing fingers in her tank top and bit her lip. She was starting to pinpoint where those fuckers were hiding.

"Well...not that you'll hide in your room but..." She trailed off and looked back at Saya and Sheera. "It doesn't have anything to do with you, Saya. I don't want to put you in it..."

"Xin, you're my friend. I left you alone once already, I don't plan on doing it again." Saya said seriously. There was no way in hell she was going to let Xin face this by herself. She was her best friend, she understood her in a way no one else could. Better than her sisters, Xin was practically family, and you don't fuck with Saya's family.

"One...two...three..." Xin counted to herself, almost not hearing Saya talking to her. She whipped around suddenly to face Saya and then glanced at Sheera. "I really don't want you involved with this." She sighed heavily, running her glowing fingers through her hair. "I should probably get going.."

"Xin, I'm not going to let you do this by yourself. I'm coming with you, whether you want me to or not." Saya said with a frown. Xin shook her head and placed her hands on wide hips. "I'm a grown woman, Saya. I'm pretty sure I can get home on my own. Don't worry about it. It's a five minute walk." Xin gave her a tight smile. "What could go wrong in five minutes?" Saya just leveled her friend with a look that clearly told her that she wasn't buying that before crossing her arms over her chest.  
"Xin, I have no doubt you could walk home on your own, but I'm gonna walk with you. At least to the wall surrounding your apartment complex okay?" Saya said, trying to get her friend to see reason, but if she couldn't then she'd leave right after her and follow anyways.

Xin scowled heavily, her tolerance for Saya's pushy nature wearing thin. She didn't need a babysitter. Her help would have been gratefully accepted at the start of this demon bullshit, but she was running around the fuckin' world at the time. If she could hold assassins off from killing her, she was pretty damn sure she'd be alright in the span of five minutes. She almost felt like snapping at Saya so she'd just get off her back and let her go home by herself.

"Fine. Come on." She mumbled, breezing away. "See you later, Sheera! Tell Star I said hello and I'll see her the next time I'm here, alright?" She called in a more cheerful voice to Sheera. Saya mentally smiled as she followed her friend out the door. She knew Xin was still upset about her having left without so much as a word, but traveling really had helped her. She'd learned a lot of different styles of fighting and some other things as well. She just wished that Xin and her could get back to how they were before she'd left. Saya could feel the rift between them and she didn't like it.  
Xin was her best friend, practically her only friend, and it felt as if they were miles apart even though they were walking side by side down the street. Even after graduation high school and college early, living by herself and being in her 20's, Xin was still a stubborn (one could even say childish) girl.

Saya had pissed her off to the fullest and she wasn't just going to spit rainbows out now that the girl was back. Hell no! Saya was gonna fuckin' know that Xin was still pissed at her. She wasn't going to let her off that damn easily! And with Saya being pushy in walking her home and insisting that she'd get involved, she felt even more annoyed. Xin wasn't a charity case, she could take care of herself.

She walked alongside her friend quietly, focusing on the three demonic energies in the vicinity. They weren't moving so she didn't have to feel worried and go into attack-mode. But just because they weren't attacking didn't mean she'd relax any time soon.

Saya sighed as they reached the outside of Xin's apartment complex. "Well, I guess I'll see you later then, Xin." Saya said, not bothering to call her by the name she liked to call her friend since she knew she was still mad at her.

Xin blinked, clearly she hadn't been paying attention during the walk. "Oh, yeah. See you." She nodded and waved to her friend before hurrying into the building. She made it back to her apartment looking quite distracted.

"Where's your friend?" Ryu asked once she stepped into her home. "Huh?" She jumped, still quite out of it. "Your friend...Saya? Where did she go?" Ryu pressed, giving her an odd look. "Oh, she went home." Xin mumbled, kicking off her shoes.

"What's the matter with you?" Gaara asked blankly, noticing her distracted face. "When I was over at her house, I felt three demonic pressures outside. I just don't know who they were." Xin mumbled, sitting on the couch. "Are you alright?" Gaara asked, coming next to her. "I'm fine, fine. I think they're just watching me for now…"

Saya had watched Xin go inside and once the door shut behind her she sighed and blew her bangs out of her face. "Well fuck me." Saya said aloud to herself before turning and starting to walk back to her apartment.

She knew Xin could stay pissed for a long ass fucking time when she wanted to and wondered exactly how long she'd stay mad at her. It's not like she completely forgot about her while she was traveling. She'd thought about her friend constantly and wondered what she was doing, who she was with, if she was still boxing any time she had time to herself.

Sheera had explained why they suddenly left once they were too far away from Tokyo to turn back and Saya had to admit it was a rather solid idea. But now that she was back and saw the rift it had formed between her and her only friend, she wasn't so sure she should have gone.

"Are they still trying to kill you or just trying to scare you?" Ryu frowned, tilting his head to the side. "Who knows, your Uncle is a fuckin' nut-case." Xin huffed and folded her arms across her chest with a frown. "Is Saya alright?" Ryu asked slowly causing Xin's frown to deepen. "Of course she's alright. Why wouldn't she be alright?" She questioned blankly. "I was just wondering." Ryu mumbled, biting his bottom lip. Xin raised her eyebrow and then glanced at Gaara who shrugged.

"You seem pretty concerned with her.."

Saya had almost reached the other side of the street a few feet away from Xin's apartment complex when she felt like someone was following her. She looked back over her shoulder, but didn't see anyone, but that didn't mean anything considering she could sense the fuckers following her. There were only two of them, meaning the third had stayed close to Xin's apartment. "Alright, come on out where I can see you!" She called out as she turned around to see two people step out from seemingly nowhere.

"Do you really think she'll be safe being friends with you?" Ryu asked Xin with a serious tone. Xin seemed thoughtful and then she paled. "Fuuuck." She hissed before getting up and bolting out of the apartment. "What the hell is she doing?" Gaara growled, noticing Xin hadn't even pulled her shoes on.

Xin was throwing the front doors of the apartment open when she slammed into someone. She gasped and stumbled backwards, holding her face. "Uh! Sorry for..." She suddenly stopped and groaned loudly, slapping her forehead. "Sasori..."

Saya didn't know who these guys were, but she knew for a fact they were demons.  
"What is your relationship with the miko Xin and our Prince?" One of them, the one furthest away from her, asked and Saya scoffed at him as she put her hands on her hips and shifted her weight to one side. "No hello? That's rude." Saya said and smirked when she saw both demons' eyes narrow at her.

"Fine, if you won't tell us willingly..." The one closest to her said before disappearing and reappearing right in front of her. Saya was so shocked that she didn't even react when he reached out, grabbed her arm and twisted it until the bone snapped and poked out from beneath her pale skin. Her forest green eyes widened at the sight and she let out an ear piercing scream of pain.

The scream reached Xin who was still standing with Sasori and Gaara and Ryu, who were thundering after Xin. "Oh my God, move!" Xin shrieked, trying to dart by Sasori. Sasori scoffed and caught her by the waist, dragging her to his chest.

"Not so fast, miko." Sasori cooed calmly, ignoring her shouts. "I swear to Jesus, I will eat you!" She snapped in anger. Ryu barreled past Sasori, already knowing Xin would either get herself away from Sasori or Gaara would snatch her up. Xin's hands began to glow and she pressed them to his exposed neck, grinning almost in an evil way when he let out a growl of pain and threw her away. The miko wasn't surprised when she felt Gaara's arms circle around her waist.

"I fuckin' told her not to get involved! Goddammit, Gaara let go! I will bite the living fuck out of you if you don't let go!" Xin started shouting, fighting out of his hold. She took off after Ryu with Gaara hot on her heels.

Saya bit her lip as the pain continued to course through her body. The two demons laughed at her and that made her pissed off. '_I'm so glad they find my pain amusing. Let's see how amusing they think I am when I kick their demonic little asses,'_ Saya thought before taking a deep breath and steeling herself for the pain she was going to feel before wrenching her arm free from the demon still holding it then pulling her arm back and punching the asshole right in his face.

He stumbled back a few feet and held his face. Saya smiled when she saw him bleeding.  
"Wretched bitch," The demon snarled before charging at her. Saya simply breathed in evenly and slowly let it out as one of her many masters had taught her before stepping back to avoid the demon's claws that would have raked across her side.

When he growled in frustration and tried coming after her again she attacked. She kicked the back of his legs, knocking him to his knees. Then she placed her good arm on his shoulder and flipped over him before chopping the back of his neck, knocking him out. She turned at the sound of a growl just in time to avoid the attack from the other demon, but he didn't give her time to rest before coming after her again.

Xin darted past Ryu, adrenaline pumping in her veins. She was going too fast to stop suddenly and she ignored as dirt and glass sliced into her bare feet. She locked her eyes on the back of the demon attacking Saya and surged forward, slamming herself into his back.

Xin let out a harpy-like shriek and slammed her fists into the back of the demon's head. Ryu left Xin alone, almost afraid to drag the screeching human off of the demon. He quickly went to Saya's side and checked her over, growling when he saw her broken arm.  
"Saya, listen to me. Besides your arm, are you hurt anywhere else?"

Saya blinked in surprise at the clear concern in Ryu's voice as he asked if she was hurt anywhere else. "Yeah, I'm fine." Saya said and looked away from his golden eyes to see the demon she'd knocked out start to get to his feet.  
"Oh no the fuck you don't." She said as she walked over to him and crouched down next to him as she grabbed a handful of his hair and yanked his head back, receiving an angered growl from the demon. "You, ya lil fucker are gonna pay for breaking my damn arm. That shit didn't feel too good." Saya said, letting some venom slip into her words.

"And what are you going to do about it human?" The demon asked with a sneer and Saya couldn't help but smirk down at him before she took a calming breath. "You're about to find out." She said before starting to sing.

_"Now I will tell you what I've done for you_  
_50 thousand tears I've cried_  
_Screaming, deceiving, and bleeding for you_  
_and you still won't hear me..."_

Saya started to sing and her forest green eyes darkened and switched to an unmistakable ruby color as her powers came to the surface and she used her voice to single in on the demon in front of her.

Gaara blandly watched Xin beat the living shit out of the demon. For God's sakes, she wasn't even purifying him, she was just beating his head in. "Doll..." He trailed off slowly, wondering if would be a good idea to pull her off. He faintly heard Saya's singing but tuned it out. It was much easier to ignore her singing since it was not directed to harm him.

A burst of spiritual energy exploded from Xin, surprising him. His skin began to burn just as Ryu's began to burn as well. It was time to pry her off of that demon. Gaara bent down and secured his hold around her waist. With a grunt, he yanked the crazy woman away, backing away from her victim.

Ryu blinked in surprise when he'd seen Saya's eyes change colors before she started singing. As she continued to softly sing the demon next to her started screaming as if he was in pain, but nothing was happening to him.

_"Not tormented daily_  
_defeated by you_  
_Just when I thought I'd reach the bottom..."_

Saya sang, then stopped before getting to her feet. Ryu looked down to see the demon knocked out again. "Asshole," Saya muttered as she walked over towards him. He looked at her eyes to see them slowly fading from a dark ruby color back to their usual forest green.

"Doll, calm down." Gaara sighed, setting her on her feet. Xin snarled and suddenly broke out of his grasp for the second time. Without saying anything she took off back towards the apartment complex.

Once she was back, she slammed herself into Sasori. He crashed into the ground, Xin sprawling on top of him. "Are you serious ya nut-job! You really couldn't leave her be?!" She shouted, digging her nails into his throat. "I'm gonna fuckin spit in your eye!"

"Goddammit, she's fast for a little one..." Gaara growled in annoyance. He turned to Ryu and Saya. "How bad are you injured?" He looked her over, noticing her broken arm. "That asshole broke my arm." Saya said with a slight whimper as the adrenaline and anger wore off and she was forced to focus on the pain.

Ryu noticed and glared at the unconscious demon a few feet away from them. "My sister's gonna have a fucking field day when I get back and she sees my arm, but the hell if I'm going to a fucking hospital," Saya said as she started to head for her apartment. She was slightly surprised that Ryu was following her.  
"Just in case," He said simply and she just shrugged. She was personally in too much pain to give a damn what he wanted to do.

Gaara went back to see what Xin was doing. When he arrived at her apartment building, he found her sitting alone and whining in pain. "What happened, doll?" He asked, crouching down to her. "Sasori got away after I tried to choke him." She sighed heavily.

"And my feet hurt." She whimpered, showing him her sliced up feet. "Stupid human, you shouldn't have acted so recklessly." Gaara chided her while picking up her small form. "Saya was in trouble, Gaara. I had to help her. She's my best friend." She reminded him with another sigh. "Yes and now look, you can't even walk." He reminded her as he carried her back to her apartment.

"It would kill me if Saya got killed because of me, Gaara..."

"Ow! Can't you be more gentle with that shit!?" Saya snapped at her sister as she used her magic to snap the bone back into the correct place before continuing the healing process. "Shut up. When you get into fights you always, always wind up coming home with wounds. I swear, this one is almost worse than when you came home after getting into a sword fight with that samurai in China." Sheera said and Saya couldn't help but smile at the memory.

"Yeah, but I kicked his ass and taught him not to say shit about my family." She said and Sheera could only shake her head at her sister as she dropped her hands to her side and sighing.

"There." Sheera said. "Now try not to get into any more fights okay?" She asked before leaving her sister alone in the kitchen and heading up to her room. Saya glanced down at her now healed arm and slowly flexed it to make sure it worked alright.

"No matter how many times I see her do that it still amazes me." She said more to herself than to Ryu who was in the room with her.

"Do you think Saya is okay?" Xin asked, flinching every time Gaara picked a piece of glass or a broken twig out of her foot. He finished with one foot and then started on the other. Her feet weren't too bad, thankfully.  
"I think she will be fine. You said she is a tough girl." Gaara reminded her, focusing on his task. "Well...yeah...ouch...but her bone was broken. I hope Sheera can fix it...OW!" Xin groaned and snatched her foot away from him, pouting.

"Stop being so dramatic, you were the one who ran out of here without any shoes." He scolded her, reaching for her foot again. "It was for a good cause, dammit! Don't judge me!" She huffed, ignoring the dull pain.

"...I just noticed Ryu isn't here..."

Ryu was slightly shocked to see the white haired girl Saya had called Sheera heal her arm, but he couldn't deny that he was glad she was no longer in pain. "So...what now?" Saya asked and Ryu looked at her confused.

"What do you mean?" He asked and Saya smiled at him as she hopped off the counter in the kitchen and walked over to him. "I mean, do we go back and let Xin and Gaara know we're alright or just do what we want?" She asked and Ryu blinked in surprise at her. One moment she's being rude to him, the next she's being nice. At this rate, he was going to wind up with whiplash.

"I assume he went with Saya to get her arm fixed." Gaara told Xin, slipping the last band aid onto her foot. "You should be fine since the cuts aren't deep." He grabbed her by her forearms and lifted her from the couch, setting her on the floor to test if she could stand on her feet.

She seemed a little uncomfortable but she didn't whine so it better than nothing. "Listen to me, Xin." His eyes were boring into her much bigger eyes. "Hm?" She bit her bottom lip innocently. "I don't care what's happening, do not do that again. Ever. You're risking yourself to danger by running around blindly like that."

Xin frowned and folded her arms across her chest. "I couldn't let them hurt her, Gaara." She reminded him. "Her arm was broken, Xin. She was hurt anyway." He reminded her harshly, watching her flinch.

"The miko ran out barefoot to make sure you were okay, so I would say go back." Ryu said and Saya shook her head at him and laughed slightly.

"She would so bitch your ass out for calling her a miko if she was here." Saya said as she reached over the back of the couch in the living room to grab her jacket and led the way out the door.

"Okay, okay. I get it, no more running off." Xin sighed heavily, nodding her head. "Good girl." Gaara shook his head and cupped her face. "Don't do that to me again." He mumbled quietly before kissing her smiling lips.  
She instantly wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer. She should have called Saya's place to scream into the phone if Saya was alright and then bitch her the fuck out because she had gotten involved. But with Gaara kissing her softly, her mind fogged up and she reminded herself to call Saya when he let her go.

"I hope she didn't get hurt too badly." Saya said to herself as she and Ryu walked towards Xin's apartment. "She's always doing things without thinking, then again I can't really talk since I do the same thing." Saya said, remembering all the times they pulled some prank in high school or got into some sort of fight or altercation.

Her parents hadn't been sure if Saya was the bad influence or if Xin was the problem. But after the umpteenth time of being called to the school to bail their daughter out of whatever trouble she and her friend had gotten into, they stopped questioning it.

And when they had stopped questioning it and had begun to ignore their daughter's wild antics, that gave Xin the leverage to get into even more trouble that would eventually lead her to tampering with drugs.

But Saya didn't know about the drugs and Xin was adamant on keeping it that way.

"Gaara..." She grumbled from underneath him. One minute she was standing up and the next, he had somehow wrestled her to the couch without her even noticing until the last second. "What?" He asked against her lips, hands shifting underneath her tank top.

"Get...off..." She whined at his touch. "You're telling me to get off but your arms are around my neck." Gaara pointed out, smirking and then biting her bottom lip. The miko wriggled under him and turned her face away, huffing and puffing.

Above her, Gaara shrugged and buried his face into her neck. Xin gasped loudly and pushed at his chest when he kissed and sucked her neck. "Gaara! Stop it, Ryu could come in." She groaned loudly. "...So?"

Saya spotted something on the ground by a tree a few feet away from Xin's apartment complex and frowned before making her way over to it, only to see it was a baby bird.

"Poor thing." She said as she bent and picked it up. "Do you think Xin will have anything to put it in? It looks like it broke its wing from the fall." She said to Ryu as he walked over and joined her. He simply shrugged and Saya rolled her eyes at him before walking up the stairs of the complex and opening the door to Xin's apartment only to stop in the doorway when she saw her best friend and her boyfriend on the couch.  
"Well then..." Saya said, getting both of their attentions.

Xin gasped and slapped her hand over her eyes. "Get off, we have company." Xin growled and shoved at Gaara's chest. The demon didn't seem too pleased and shot a glare at Saya and Ryu, letting them know they had just ruined the mood.

Xin scrambled to her feet, ignoring the stinging. She hurried to Saya, frowning. "Are you okay?" Xin asked her friend, looking over her arm. "Oh, you seem fine...well then...what the fuck did I tell you!? I didn't want you to get involved but noooo! Xinny is not pleased, goddammit! I'm gonna fuckin' lock you in a closet, I swear to Jesus!" She began to rant, throwing her arms about.

Suddenly, she paused. "Is that a bird?"

Saya grinned at her friend's rant and her reaction to the small little bird in her hands. "Yes it is, and it's hurt. Do you have a box or something I could put it in?" Saya asked Xin curiously as she walked further into the apartment and walked into the living room.

Xin shot her a look and nodded. "I should have a shoe box here somewhere." She mumbled, vanishing into her room to rifle through her things. "Ah! I knew I had one in here somewhere. But how the fuck did I put it on the top shelf? I can't reach it..." She whined from her bedroom. She really hated being below average height.

"Ryu? Can you come in here and get this box for me?" She poked her head out her door, pouting cutely. "Why can't I get it for you?" Gaara asked moodily. Xin snorted and gave him a blank look. "Because I doubt Ryu would take that chance and push me on my bed to have his way with me." She pointed out. "Right, Ryu?"

Saya chuckled from the living room which earned her a glare from Gaara. "Right." Ryu nodded and followed Xin to her bedroom. Not that Xin wasn't pretty or anything...she just belonged to his possessive and violent cousin. So, any thoughts of doing anything like that to the small woman was out of the question. Besides...he was more interested in Saya.

"This one?" He asked, easily reaching the box she was pointing to. "Wow, you really are small..." He commented, noticing the extreme height difference with her standing next to him. "Having sex with Gaara must be interesting." He continued, realizing that his cousin was about the same height as him.

Xin's face flushed red and she quickly took the box from him. "I'm ignoring that..." She mumbled and quickly fled the room with the box. "Here." She placed a small towel in the box and then coaxed the injured bird from Saya. "Poor little guy..."

"I know, and I can't get Sheera to heal him 'cuz she hasn't figured out how to heal animals. The last time she tried Star's pet ferret wound up looking like a squirrel." Saya said as she set the box on her lap as Xin sat down next to her and gently placed the bird inside.

"Hm." Xin nodded quietly and reached into the box. Her finger started to glow a soft purple while she gently prodded the small bird. "I'm not really good at healing right now, but I'm working on it. Hinata is much better than me but I know she's probably busy right now..."

"Yes, having sex with Naruto..." Gaara spoke up from behind the two females. Xin jumped and twisted around to gape at him. "How do you know what they're doing?!" She demanded, blushing heavily again. "Because I do..."

Xin was still a little on edge about the whole topic of sex, but she was trying to get used to it. Saya simply shook her head at her friend and her boyfriend. "Do you think you could heal him?" She asked, getting her friend's attention. Xin shot Gaara one last look before turning back to the injured bird. "Yeah...If I just focus long enough..." She mumbled, placing a glowing hand into the box over the bird.

The bird's wing crunched and seemingly rearranged itself under her palm. She held it there for another minute before pulling her hand away. "We should leave the poor thing rest and let him be for a bit. Let him get used to having his wing repaired." Xin suggested, falling backwards and falling on her back.

The hem of her shirt rose out and from underneath her shirt, a long scar appeared. Ryu frowned, noticing the ruined skin. It was an eyesore among her smooth skin. "I suppose you're right." Saya said as she leaned forward and gently placed the box down on the table, her shirt and jacket ridding up, exposing a bit of her lower back along with the tattoo that was there.

"Pull your shirt down, doll." Gaara instructed the miko. Xin glanced up and saw the scar was visible. She looked distastefully at it and quickly pulled her shirt down, hiding the only blemish on her skin. Gaara wasn't too bothered by it being there but Xin insisted it made her body ugly. It started at the middle of her ribcage and went diagonally down her stomach to her hip.

Saya glanced over at her friend, but decided it would be best to ask the next time they were both alone. She rest her elbows on her knees and sighed as she softly pet the little bird.

Xin seemed extremely distracted by her scar. Through the fabric of her tank top, she found the top of the bloated skin and ran her fingers down it's trail, frowning sadly. "Doll." Gaara waved her attention. "Hm?" She jumped and then glanced up. "You're fine." He told her with a serious face.

Ryu glanced between the two of them and then down at Saya. What an odd bunch of people. "You two have been through a lot, huh?" He grinned at the duo. Xin let out a soft laugh and tangled her fingers in her long hair. "Yeah, you could say that."

Saya simply frowned before getting to her feet. "Sorry about everything Xin, but I'm gonna head home now." Saya said as she moved towards the door. She didn't want to seem rude, but seeing how Gaara and Xin acted around each other only kept reminding Saya of the fact she was alone.

Xin frowned and unsettled by Saya's sudden mood, she got up to follow. "Xin, get your fuckin' shoes on." Gaara growled as she went to the door. She mumbled something incoherent and quickly slipped on the most comfortable pair she could find.

"Saya!" She shouted, hurrying after her best friend. She caught the other girl just as she was pressing the elevator button. "Saya...what's the matter? Why'd you leave all of a sudden?" She frowned sadly.

"It's nothing Xin, I just...Star and Sheera want me home early, that's all." Saya lied quickly, hoping her friend wouldn't pick up on it, but of course she wasn't so lucky. Xin gave her a blank look and folded her arms across her chest. Raising her eyebrows, she leaned her hip into the wall and cocked her head to the side. "Seriously? That's the best you got for me? That's the best bullshit lie you can come up with me? Who do you take me for?"

"Would you believe me if I told you I've got a group of chemically altered mind eating bugs in my head that are slowly devouring my brain as we speak and if I don't get to a hospital in the next five minutes I'll die a very slow and painful, and did I mention bloody death?" Saya asked, pulling that out her ass.

Xin's expression remained and she rolled her eyes. "Cute, much better but no. Not buying it. Now out with it!"

Saya held Xin's gaze for a few seconds before sighing. The door to the elevator dinged open and Saya grabbed Xin by the arm and pulled her inside and once the doors were closed and they were moving she turned to her friend. "It's hurts seeing you two okay?" Saya admitted.

Xin folded her arms across her chest and cocked her head to the side, still confused by Saya's words. "What the hell are you talking about?" She deadpanned. Saya sighed at her friend's ignorance.  
"It hurts to see you and Gaara together. I'm glad you've found someone Xinny, but seeing you two together only reminds me of the fact that I don't have anyone to call me Doll or Love. I have no one I can go to when I feel like I need to be held, or to kiss when I need it. And seeing you two when I don't have that hurts." Saya explained in further detail for her friend to understand. She didn't like being jealous of her friend, but she couldn't help it.

Xin sighed heavily, running thin fingers through inky blue hair. So Saya made a hasty escape like that because she was jealous of her relationship with Gaara? What the hell was she supposed to do? What was she supposed to say?

"I don't know what you want me to say, Saya..." She shook her head, frowning sadly. "I can't deny that I love him...he saved me from drowning in my own sorrow. He saved me from dying so many times." She explained softly. "I'm not trying to rub it in or anything but for the first time since...I don't even know when...I'm happy.."

"I know Xinny, and I'm happy for you. I know I shouldn't be jealous of you, but I am and I can't help it. There's nothing you can do about it, and there's nothing I want you to do about it, but that doesn't mean I'm going to be able to sit in the same room as you two while you practically fuck on the couch." Saya said, being as blunt as she could without really meaning to.

Xin looked as if she wasn't bothered until Saya's last blunt accusation. Instantly, she scowled and placed both hands on her hips. "When exactly were we 'fucking' on the couch? Last time I checked, I was on the floor with the fuckin' bird you brought in. We weren't even touching when you decided to be moody and left." She snapped with a hardened scowl.

"And if you're talking about when you walked in on us kissing, you walked in. You didn't bother knocking, you walked in on us when we were alone. What'd ya think we were doing? Twiddling our thumbs? C'mon, Saya, I can take a lot of things but I won't take you disrespecting my relationship that I had to go through hell and back for. That's just rude, seeing as your my best friend..." Saya sighed and ran a hand through her hair, this isn't what she wanted to happen.

"I didn't mean it like that Xin and you know it. I just...I don't know." Saya said as the elevator stopped and the doors opened. "I'll see you around." She said before slipping out the doors of the elevator and heading towards the exit.

Xin groaned and leaned her head against the wall of the elevator, not even bothering to go after Saya. When Saya was ready, she'd come back and explain herself even more. But first, she was going to have to realize what she wanted in life at the moment.

"Bah," Xin shook her head and pressed the button, watching quietly as the doors slid close. Coming back to her floor, she swayed back to her apartment, frowning thoughtfully.

"Your friend left?" Gaara asked as she slipped off her shoes and sat in between the demonic cousins. "Mm." She nodded, thinking deeply. Suddenly, she turned to stare at Ryu. "Ryu? What do you think of Saya?"


	3. Chapter 3

Kiteria: Hey guys, we're back with another update! It was brought to my attention by one of you reviewers that apparently Saya is just a copy of Xin. To that, I'd like to tell you to read my stories BlueDevil High and BlueDevil Dropouts to understand her backstory and life. She is _similar_ to Xin in a lot of ways, but by no means is she a copy.

Now that that's out of the way, enjoy the update.

* * *

Ryu blinked in surprise at Xin's sudden question. "What?" He asked, wondering where that came from. Xin rolled her eyes and snapped her fingers in his face. "Focus," She said with a huff. She folded her arms across her chest. "It's a simple question. What do you think of my friend? Saya. You know the one that was just here? With the red and black hair?"

"She's sexy, but her attitude needs an adjustment." Ryu replied truthfully, not really getting where Xin was going with this. Xin nodded slowly, her hair falling over her shoulder. She leaned closer to Ryu, her eyes boring into him. Gaara had constantly told her that sometimes she got the certain look in her eyes. It made other people _(especially_ _demons)_ uncomfortable.

"Does my relationship with Gaara bother you?" She asked, ignoring the pinch Gaara gave to her thigh. What the hell was she getting at with all of these questions? Ryu frowned hard, her question catching him off guard. "Um…do I really need to answer that?" Ryu asked, looking towards his cousin. The answer was yes, but he didn't really want to tell Xin that.

Xin shrugged and nodded. "I'd like to know your opinion and explanation and then I can move forward with something," She replied innocently. She gave him her sweetest smile. She didn't have any bad intentions, seriously. If he just told her the truth and maybe told her 'why', then she'd be able to set everything in action. Why the hell was he acting like she was going to chop his dick off or something?

"Here we go..." Gaara mumbled from next to her, shaking his head. He didn't really know what the miko was up to, but he was already dreading it. She had that glint in her eyes. This was going to be a disaster. "You might as well answer it before she goes miko on your ass again." He told his cousin calmly. He'd much rather deal with a nervous Ryu over a purified Ryu. Ugh, the smell of burning flesh was terrible.

"It's simply odd seeing my cousin with someone that makes him so happy. Even if she is a short miko." Ryu said with a teasing smile towards the end. Xin gave him a smile and plucked him. She would never admit it out loud but she was pretty damn short. And sitting between these two exaggerated their height differences ten-fold. "I'm not that short, you know..."

"You are, doll." Gaara patted her on her head. She pouted and then shrugged. "Well...I'm pretty, so I win." She chuckled and combed her fingers through her hair. "Would you say you'd like to be happy like Gaara?"

"I'm not getting where you're going with this." Ryu said with a frown. "Oh my fuckin' Jesus." Xin slapped her forehead. Gaara simply rolled his eyes next to her, playing with a strand of her hair. Why the fuck was Ryu making this so difficult for her? It was a simple yes or no question. Hell, Naruto probably would've caught on faster. That reminded her, she was really going to need to call Hinata soon.

"Do you want to be happy?"

"Doesn't everyone?" Ryu asked confused. Xin smiled sadly. "Perhaps they do. A lot of people are stubborn and others are scared. Not everyone gets it or deserves it. But some do. I think you do." Xin nodded firmly and patted his leg. "So that's why I'm gonna help you get it."

If Saya found out about what she was planning, she'd probably try to kill her. That made her smile. If Ryu found out...well...she'd just hide behind Gaara and cry. That way Gaara would kick his cousin's ass for making her cry. Her grin turned evil.

"I'll make dinner!" She exclaimed, jumping up and dancing into the kitchen. "This is not good..." Gaara folded his arms across his chest somberly. "What?" Ryu asked, still confused.

Saya sighed to herself as she walked into the apartment she shared with her two sisters before kicking off her boots and gliding up the stairs to her room. She slipped out of her jacket and threw it over the back of the chair at her computer before flopping down onto her bed and staring up at her self-painted ceiling.

_'I didn't mean to say that to her, but she asked.'_Saya thought to herself before sighing again. It wasn't really her fault she had issues trusting guys, or the fact they had issues with her attitude. That's just how she was, she's always been that way. Xin should know that by now.

* * *

"You should've just ignored her questions." Gaara shook his head with a sigh. Him answering her questions was going to set something off. He could see the little evil gears whirling around that conceited ass head of hers. "She's planning something..."

Xin danced in her kitchen, pulling things out to cook and setting everything up. Although Saya had pissed her off twice, she was still in a good mood. She still wasn't sure how Saya could be so upset with her over the relationship...but that was about to be over. "I'm such a good friend..." She grinned to herself, internally cackling like a witch.

"You're the one who told me to answer her." Ryu shot back in an exasperated tone. And to top it off, he was still rather confused. He didn't like being confused. Who the hell liked being confused, anyway?

* * *

Saya sighed again before deciding to go to sleep. She'd had a trying day. She went to see her friend, got into an argument with said friend, got her arm broke, got her arm healed, found a baby bird, walked in on her friend and her boyfriend about to have sex on the couch despite Xin's claims, and got into another fight with her friend. She needed to rest before she went crazy and lost it.

Good God, what a day. She sighed heavily and weaved her fingers through her hair, not really staring at nothing. With another heavy sigh, she turned over on her stomach and jerked her blanket over her head.

Today just needed to end.

* * *

"Yes but you should have given her an answer that she wouldn't have liked." Gaara shot back at him. "You guys? Come on, it's ready..." She suddenly breezed out of the kitchen to set things down on the dinner table she had recently bought. Hinata had nagged her to buy a table. "Hope you guys like it...and if you don't...well fuck you, I'm an awesome cook!"

She was grinning widely but behind the grin, she was tired. Why the hell was she so tired? So she ran around outside, cut her feet up, tackled and beat a demon's head in, tried to purify Sasori, got a little touchy-feely with her boyfriend _(it was strange to call him her_ _boyfriend, for some reason)_ and had two arguments with her best friend. Good lord, what a day.

Ryu simply shook his head at his cousin's response. He just couldn't win. Xin only grinned and Gaara shook his head. What a strange life they had.

* * *

-The Next Day-

"Saya! Get your lazy ass up!" Sheera said from her youngest sister's doorway only to get disgruntled moan in response from the lump under the covers of the bed. "You either get up willingly so we can go out with Star or I'll get you out of bed myself," Sheera said and got the same response.

"Fine Saya, but you were warned," Sheera said before holding her hand out parallel to the ground and lifting her sister up out of the bed, earning a shocked scream from said girl. "Sheera what the hell!? Put me down!" Saya shouted and Sheera smirked at her sister.

"As you wish." She said before dropping her sister into the bathtub and cutting the shower on with a flick of her wrist. As the cold water rained down on Saya she screamed.

"Good, now that you're awake you can get ready. We're leaving in five minutes." Sheera said before turning and walking out of the room. "Witch." Saya mumbled to herself as she stood up and turned the water from cold to hot and stripped out of her soaked clothes.

* * *

"I don't care how much you whine, we're going shopping for clothes. I refuse to let you walk around in those damn robes." Xin folded her arms and cocked her hip to the side. For the last ten minutes Ryu and Gaara had been trying to talk Xin out of the shopping trip she was about to drag them on.

"For fuck's sake, woman. Can't he just use my clothes?" Gaara growled in her face. Xin scowled at him and didn't back away. "That's weird, no! He needs his own clothes!" She snapped at him. "Now quit your bitching and let's go!" She shouted, shoving them both out the door.

* * *

Saya stomped down the stairs with a frown on her face to see her sisters waiting for her by the door. Sheera was in a light blue top with a pair of blue jean cutoff shorts on while Star was wearing a white tank top with a pink heart on it covered in sparkles and what looked to be a pink tutu. Saya shook her head at her sisters before grabbing her jacket only to have Sheera smack her hand away.

"No. It's barely even autumn, stop trying to wear that everywhere you go." Sheera said and Saya growled at her sister. "My friend gave me that as a birthday present, the hell if I ain't gonna wear it." Saya said in a _'don't fuck with me bitch'_ tone and Sheera pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. "Fine." She said and Saya smiled as she grabbed her jacket and pulled it on over her red gypsy top that exposed her midriff and white skinny jeans that hung low off her hips, being barely held up by her dark red studded belt.

"Come on then, let's go." Saya said as she grabbed her wallet and slipped out the door with her sisters following behind her. Star had insisted that they go shopping today, Saya didn't really care, but would go just because Star wanted to. That and she didn't really want to be by herself at the moment.

* * *

"It's not even that bad." Xin was talking as she picked through hangers and hangers of skinny jeans. "Your style is probably a lot of like Gaara's style, what do you think?" Xin turned to see the two demons weren't even listening to her. She slapped her forehead.

Ryu wasn't staring at anything in particular, he was just spaced out. Gaara, however, had noticed another male had been eyeing Xin from the minute she walked into the store. He fuckin' told her not to wear that fuckin half-shirt and what she considered to be a skirt. That piece of cloth couldn't be a skirt. But no, she didn't want to listen and now these fuckers were ogling her as if she was interested.

"Are you two even listening to me!?" She snapped, grabbing Gaara by his dog tags and Ryu by the front of his shirt.

Ryu turned his attention to the seemingly upset miko who had a hold of the front of his shirt. "You're miko seems to be upset cousin," He said to Gaara simply, refusing to answer Xin's question.

* * *

"Star, can we please go somewhere else?" Saya asked, glancing around the pink store with a frown. Of all the places her sister had to pick to go to, she had to pick the one with so much...pink. "Fine, just let me buy this one last thing." Star said as she ran up to the counter and bought the pink outfit before returning to her sisters.

Saya sighed in relief at finally leaving that horrible store. As they walked down the street Saya heard a song playing on a radio somewhere and started humming to it. "Hey Saya, this is one of your favorite songs right?" Star asked and Saya simply nodded and started dancing to the music as she walked.

"Well sing it. It's been a while since I last heard you sing." Star said and Saya looked at her sister for a second before smiling and doing as she said.

_"You better take it from me_  
_That boy is like a disease_  
_You're running, you're trying, you're trying to hide _

_And wondering why you can't get free..."_

Saya sang and danced as she did so. She glanced at her sisters and smiled when she saw Star had dropped all their bags and was dancing on the wall surrounding the fountain in the middle of the street.

_"He's like a curse_  
_He's like a drug_  
_You get addicted to his love..."_

Saya sang and smiled, it had been a while since she last had a day like this with her sisters. She'd missed it. It's been so long since she was able to just have a nice time with her two sisters.

* * *

"What?" Gaara blinked and looked at Xin. She growled in annoyance and let them both go. "You two are helpless!" She snapped, storming away deeper into the store. "What the fuck just happened?" Gaara frowned and scratched the back of his head, watching as Xin stomped away.

Ryu frowned almost stupidly and then shrugged. That miko had some drastic mood swings. "She's crazy," He answered calmly. That was the obvious reason she had randomly started to snap at them for just standing there.

* * *

_"He's a good time,__Cowboy Casanova_  
_leaning up against the record machine_  
_Looks like a cool drink of water_  
_but he's candy coated misery..."_

Saya sang and her sister continued to dance, even Sheera. Saya was oblivious to the fact she was drawing a crowd, but she didn't really care, she loved this song.

She danced and spun in circles, rotating her hips and swinging her long hair back and forth. For once, it felt so nice to just relax and pretend that her life wasn't all over the place. And that for once, she was just a normal girl with normal sisters.

Like there were no such thing as a mythical person. And demons were only scary stories to scare children. And crazy miko best friends weren't even thought of. Everything was normal.

* * *

Xin busily picked through clothes, grabbing what she thought would fit Ryu and some things for Gaara. Soon, the weight became too much for her to handle and she found herself staggering backwards. She began to topple backwards but suddenly jerked to a stop. Gasping, she turned her head to apologize to see the man who had been ogling her from the start.

"I'm sorry. I'm kind of small and...have you ever noticed clothes are really heavy if it's a big stack? Don't you think that's strange?" She rambled with a smile. The male only smiled and helped her stand and then took most of the clothes. "Yes, I have noticed. A small woman like you shouldn't be carrying all of this by yourself." He commented.

"I should have grabbed a cart," Xin stuck her tongue out at her stupidity. She should have known Gaara and Ryu would have been zero help to her. "Well, I'll carry your clothes for you," The male offered her kindly. "Really? That's nice of you..." Xin smiled slowly, not even thinking that this person could have bad intentions. Where the fuck were Ryu and Gaara?

Ryu had heard what sounded like singing and gone to see where it was coming from with Gaara right behind him only to stop when he saw Saya, Sheera, and a girl he'd never seen before standing in the middle of a large crowd. Saya was singing while Sheera and the other girl were dancing. Then Sheera and the girl started singing and Saya started dancing and Ryu couldn't take his eyes off her.

"Sirens..." Gaara chuckled with no ill intentions towards Saya or sirens. With everything going on, he assumed Xin was safe in the store. He had forgotten all about that guy who had been staring holes into her. What was the worse that could happen? They were surrounded by people.

"Thank you again." Xin smiled as she was handed dozens of bags. "It was no problem." The guy smiled at her as she set her bags down and looked around the store. "Where the fuck did those two go?" She frowned in confusion, trying to find her two demons.

She hadn't even noticed what was going on outside and that everyone had left the store to see the dancing girls.

As she glanced around, she hadn't noticed the odd look in the person's eyes. She had been oblivious to everything. And then out of nowhere, she was thrown harshly to the floor. Xin sputtered out in surprise as she was pinned face-down. "What the fuck!? What are you doing!? Get off of me!" She began to shout, her voice becoming loud as she struggled underneath the body. He snorted from above her and clamped a hand over her mouth.

Well, this was just perfect. While Gaara and Ryu were God knows where, she was about to be kidnapped. What the hell did this person want from her anyway? She felt a sudden spike in his aura and then groaned against his hand. A demon. Of fuckin' course.

* * *

Saya danced along with her sisters as they sang this time until she heard a very distinctive sound coming from one of the stores. She stopped and turned towards it only to see Ryu and Gaara standing behind the crowd looking her way. _'Wait a minute, if they're here then Xin should be too.'_Saya thought, but when she didn't see her short little friend automatically felt a bad feeling settle in the pit of her stomach.

"Shit." She mumbled and glanced back at her sisters before running through the crowd towards Ryu and Gaara, but she didn't stop to say hello, she ran right past them and into the store she'd heard the sound come from only to stop when she saw some guy pinning the missing miko to the floor.

"The fuck are you doing!?" Saya shouted in alarm, causing him to turn his head in her direction, not having expected her to show up.

His eyes fell on her and he scowled. "So you must be the loud mouth girl Sasori-San has mentioned," He commented dryly, using his body weight to hold Xin down. Xin mentally cursed, his hand had been blocking both her nose and her mouth and it was getting harder and harder to stay conscious with no air flow.

Gradually, her struggling died down until she was laying still. The demon glanced down at her, grinning as he did so. He hadn't expected to knock her out so quickly. He reached behind into his boot and produced a simple dagger. Slowly, he gathered the little human in his arms and turned to face the friend, his dagger pressing into Xin's throat.

"I have orders to either bring her to him or to kill her right now. I suggest you stay where you are and she won't be harmed," He grinned, pressing the tip further into Xin's pale neck, producing a small drop of blood to bubble up. "Pretty girl, we wouldn't want any accidents, right?"

Gaara frowned, smelling the faint smell of blood mixed with lavender. He cursed and then whipped around, crashing through the store doors and nearly into Saya. He eyes searched wildly and landed on his little doll and that demon.

His eyes started to flicker to gold.

Saya never took her eyes off the demon in front of her. She couldn't move or he'd hurt Xin. "Saya, what's going o-" Star started to ask as she, Sheera, and Ryu joined Gaara and them in the store, but paused when she saw the demon holding Xin. Saya glanced at Gaara and could tell he wanted to kill the demon who dared to hurt Xin, but she knew if he did anything right now Xin might get hurt.

"Sheera," Saya said and her eldest sister looked at her. "Bedroom, this morning, now," She ordered, which made Ryu and Star look at her in confusion. Sheera nodded before holding her hand out parallel to the ground much like she had earlier today in Saya's room and lifted the demon up into the air. He was so shocked his grip on Xin loosened and she slumped to the ground like a sack of flower.

Saya dashed forward and caught her friend before she could hit the ground. "He's all yours Gaara." She said to the redhead as she cradled Xin's head in her lap and brushed some of her hair back away from her face.

Gaara glanced at the unconscious female, wanting to check if she was alright but decided against it. Saya would take care of her for him. Without any warning, he surged forward and slapped the dagger out of his hand. Didn't Sasori get it? She was not going to die by his hand.

He reached out and sunk his claws into the demon's throat. All he wanted to see was this demon's blood. He wanted to see it drench the floor. He wanted to smell it. He was going to make an example out of him.

Gaara snatched his arm back, tearing the demon's throat out. Blood covered his front but he only watched as the demon dropped like a ton of bricks. It was all too easy. And he would keep doing it and doing it until they left the doll alone.

With a wave of his hand, a portal ripped through the air. With a bloodied hand, he tossed the corpse of the demon into the portal, not caring if it made it back to Sasori or not. The portal closed and for a moment, he stood there and relished in the blood. Saya blinked in surprise at the bloody scene she just witnessed before smiling and shaking her head as she looked down at her unconscious friend. _'Why I'm worried about you I'll never know Xinny, you seem pretty well off with Gaara.'_Saya thought to herself as she looked at Xin's unconscious form.

"Is she alright?" Star asked and she looked up at her sister. "She's fine, just passed out from lack of oxygen." Saya responded simply and turned towards Gaara. "She's not hurt, but I'm gonna guess that wasn't the first person that was sent after her, right?" Saya asked him in a no nonsense tone.

This was her friend they were talking about and despite the fact that Xin wanted her to stay out of it, that wasn't going to happen. Saya thought of her friends as her family, and the one thing you didn't do was fuck with Saya's family.

Gaara sighed heavily and tried to gather his rage and bottle it back up. He wiped his bloodstained hand on his shirt and slowly turned to face Saya and the rest of the group that had gathered around his little doll. "It's not the first and won't be the last. I will assume this is why she doesn't want you involved," Gaara shrugged blandly. The only thing he was concerned about was when the hell Xin would wake back up. She was probably going to bitch him out for leaving her alone, but she would be right to do so.

Saya simply nodded at Gaara's response before turning her attention back to Xin who was starting to wake back up. She opened her eyes and they focused instantly on Gaara which kind of made Saya smile until she opened her mouth.

Xin's smile drop and she groaned loudly. Her throat was stinging like crazy. Softly, she touched it and withdrew her hand to see some blood on her hand. "What the fuck happened? When the fuck did you three get here?" She pointed to Saya and her sisters. "And where the fuck were you two!?" She demanded, pointing at Gaara and Ryu.

"My stomach and chest hurts." She whined suddenly, seeing as how she was thrown on her stomach and pinned there. "And where the fuck is that weirdo that tackled me to the floor? I want answers, dammit!"

Saya couldn't help but chuckle at her friend's little rant, which earned her several looks that she ignored. "It's okay Xinny, he's gone." Saya told her friend with a smile as she sat up. "And Sheera, Star, and I were out shopping today anyways, I heard a scream and came in to see you pinned to the floor by that maniac, Sheera did her levitation thing and Gaara took care of the rest. By the way, you may want to change your clothes." Saya said the last part towards Gaara who was covered in blood.

Xin pushed herself up and held her throat. She jumped when Gaara squatted down in front of her, noticing his bloodstained clothes. "Are you alright? What did you do to that guy?" She asked, motioning to the bloody clothes. Gaara rolled his eyes. "You were the one almost kidnapped and you're asking me if I'm okay? I'm fine, you silly human," Gaara told her. "This isn't my blood." He touched her cheek with his hand even though it was blood stained.

Almost instantly, Xin pushed his hand away and bit her lip. "You should really change. The clothes are in those shopping bags." Xin mumbled, pointing to her collection of bags that were forgotten.

Saya frowned at how Xin was acting. Sure Gaara was covered in blood, but it was of the blood he'd spilled protecting her. In Saya's opinion, that would have been hot if someone had done that for her. It was then that Saya finally realized Ryu wasn't in his robes. She looked him up and down and couldn't help but admire how the black skinny jeans, studded belt, and red t-shirt over the black long sleeve shirt made him look. He looked hotter than he had in his robes.

"Saya, earth to Saya." Star said, waving her hand in front of her face and she blinked a couple of times before focusing on her sister. "I'm sorry Star, did you say something?" She asked with an apologetic smile.

Gaara frowned at her odd behavior. "What's the matter with you?" He asked slowly. Xin played with a strand of her hair and bit harder on her lip. "Nothing, I'm glad you're okay." She shrugged, giving him her best smile.

Gaara eyed her and grabbed her, pulling her over to the shopping bags. She rifled through the bags and picked something out for him. She found him a change of clothes and pointed to the dressing rooms so he could change. Blankly, he lifted her over his shoulder and walked to the room, ignoring her shouting for him to put her down.

"I just want to talk to you," He grumbled as they vanished into the dressing room.

Saya watched the show between her friend and Gaara and only shook her head at it before focusing her attention back to her sister. "...Never got to finish shopping." Star said and Saya mentally groaned. She loved her sister to death, but the girl could and would shop until the other person with her dropped. "Star I-" Saya started, but got cut off by Ryu.

* * *

"So?" Gaara began, peeling off the bloodied shirt. Xin sat quietly on the bench, arms crossed across her chest. "So what?" She raised her eyebrows and whistled innocently. "What's wrong with you?" He demanded to know, throwing the blood soaked shirt to the floor. Xin scowled as the shirt made a wet sound as it landed.

"Are you like this because I left you alone in the store?" He kept asking questions, grabbing the shirt she was holding for him. "Now that you mention it..." Xin feigned innocence and tapped her chin thoughtfully.

"Would you just spit it out already?"

"Our relationship makes people uncomfortable."

"...What?"

* * *

"I'm sorry, but Saya promised she'd show me around," Ryu said evenly and all three mythicals turned to look at him. Sheera and Star out of shock and Saya out of confusion since she never remembered agreeing to that. "You did?" Star asked her sister and she rubbed the back of her head uncomfortably. "I guess I did." She said with an apologetic smile to her sister.

"That's fine, but you should have told me." Star said with a pout and Saya felt bad for upsetting her sister. "But that's okay! Sheera and I can go shopping!" Star shouted excitedly, quickly getting over being upset and Saya just shook her head at her sister.

"Just be home before dark." Star said sternly and Saya couldn't help but laugh at the Pixie before pulling her into a hug and ruffling her hair. "Yeah yeah. I'll see you guys later." Saya said and watched as both her sisters left.

Once they were gone she turned to Ryu. "Thanks for lying to them for me." She said and he just looked at her. "Who said I was lying?" He asked and Saya looked at him confused.

* * *

"It makes people around us uncomfortable." Xin shrugged her shoulders and twisted her lips up. "We can't be touchy-feely around people." She continued with a frown. "Xin, who cares what others think?" Gaara pulled the shirt on, wondering why she never bought him shirts that were loose or even had sleeves.

"I do. I don't wanna make any uncomfortable. So, for now on...you're going to stop touching me, groping me and kissing me when we're with other people, alright?" Xin stood up, hands on her hips and smiling sweetly.

"Are you kidding..."

"No, I'm dead the fuck serious."

* * *

Ryu saw Saya blink in surprise at his statement and smiled. He found it rather entertaining to confuse the red and black haired siren standing in front of him.

"Wait a minute, what?" Saya asked and Ryu's smile widened just slightly. "How I see it, you owe me for getting you out of shopping with your sisters. You can repay me by showing me around." Ryu said and Saya just stared at him in shock.

"Besides, I think my cousin and his miko need some time to themselves." He said and Saya frowned in thought before sighing and running a hand through her hair. "Alright, but you better not fucking complain about where I take your ass." Saya said sternly and Ryu simply smiled at her. She was rather entertaining, despite her attitude and mood swings.

* * *

"I'm not kidding." Xin chuckled, opening the dressing room door and leaving the demon behind. She quickly gathered up all of her shopping bags and smiled across the room at Ryu and Saya. This was perfect and she didn't even have to instigate anything.

"You guys haven't killed each other yet!" She clapped her hands together, rustling all the bags on her arms. "Good job, you guys are getting better." Xin hummed as Gaara came up behind her and took most of the bags from her. "Leave people alone, doll."

Saya felt a small pang of jealousy as she heard Gaara call Xin doll. She knew it shouldn't be there, but it was. "I don't plan on killing him," Saya said to her friend with a frown. "I never plan on a lot of things, it just happens anyway." Xin waved Saya's frown off with a smile. "We should get these bags home, I don't want to carry them around all day," Xin hummed, looking down at the bags. "What are you two going to do?"

"I'm gonna show Ryu around some since he's new here." Saya said, choosing to ignore the rather pleased look her friend was giving her. "Care to drop these off at my apartment?" Saya asked Xin hopefully.

She only had two bags, but there were some things in there that she really didn't want to be carrying around if Ryu was with her. She had a feeling he might get a little...curious.

"No problem." Xin hummed again, taking the bags from Saya and handing them to Gaara to hold. Xin walked towards Ryu, a hand on her hip. She reached forward and grabbed his face, pulling him down closer to her face. "You take care of Saya, okay? I want her back in one piece when she gets home, you understand? I will purify the living fuck out of you if anything bad happens to her, ya feel me?" Xin's questioned, her eyes becoming eerily serious.

Saya simply shook her head at her friend before reaching out and grabbing Ryu's arm and pulling him away from Xin. "I'll be fine Xinny. If Ryu can't kick someone's ass then I can." Saya said before pulling Ryu along with her out of the store before Xin could say or do anything else.

If Saya had stayed, she would have noticed the sly and almost evil smile across Xin's face. "You look like you're plotting something." Gaara noted, leading her out of the store. "Maybe I am." Xin clapped her hands together.

They dropped Saya's things off at her apartment and then went back to Xin's apartment. Xin sung softly as she put all of the new clothes away. As she hanging up the last couple articles of clothing, she felt hands on her hips.

"Jesus Christ..."

* * *

Ryu followed Saya as he led the way through the crowd of people. "So, where exactly do you want to go?" She asked and Ryu simply shrugged making her sigh. "Fine, in that case we're going to a few of my favorite places." She said before grabbing his arm and pulling him after her into a building full of lights and sounds and a bunch of other people.

"What is this place?" Ryu asked confused and Saya smiled at him. "An arcade," Saya smirked, looking all around.

* * *

Xin groaned as he lifted her off the floor and carried her to the bathroom. "Why are we going to the bathroom? I took a shower already," Xin huffed, not even trying to break his hold. "I still have dried blood on my chest," He informed her, stepping into her bright and white bathroom. "So? You can't take a shower yourself?" Xin frowned while he set her down on the edge of the sink.

"Of course I could take a shower myself." He mumbled, turning the water on and testing it. "Well, why I am in here then?" Xin braided and then unbraided her hair almost nervously. "Because I want to take a shower with you."

Looks like her day was set for her.

* * *

"Haha, you're not half bad at this game." Saya said as she raised the plastic gun in her hand and pointed it at the screen. She'd had to explain to Ryu how to play, but once he got the basics he was kicking ass. He was almost better than her.

"Shit!" Saya said when her character got killed and the game ended. "Oh well, come on, there's one last game I'd like to play." She said as she grabbed Ryu's hand and pulled him along after her.

* * *

Xin mumbled to herself as she stepped out of the shower, dripping all over the floor. "You're impossible." She grabbed a towel and wrapped it around herself. "Don't bother getting dressed," Gaara chuckled in a silky voice. Xin ran her hands through her soaked hair and sagged her shoulders.

"Being in the shower, that wasn't enough for you?" Xin whined as he tugged on her towel. "Of course not." He kissed her shoulder and scooped her up. "Come on, Gaara!" Xin kicked her legs childishly as he smirked and carried her to the bedroom.

* * *

Ryu blinked in surprise at the fact Saya had grabbed him by the hand, but allowed her to lead him through the arcade non-the-less. He was actually enjoying himself at the moment, seeing all the different ways Saya reacted to a game.

When she lost she'd pout or cuss at it. When she won, she'd smile widely and jump up and down in place or scream and call the game a 'whipped bitch'. She certainly was interesting to be around.

"Here it is." Saya said, bringing him out of his thoughts. He looked up to see some kind of game with a platform laid out in front of it. "What is it?" He asked confused and Saya smiled at him. "It's a dancing game, come on." She said and tried to pull him up with her, but he pulled his arm back and shook his head. "Oh come on." Saya pleaded, but Ryu frowned. "No." He said simply and Saya huffed before narrowing her forest green eyes at him. "Fine." She said before turning and looking around the arcade before suddenly smiling and calling to a random kid in the crowd.

"Hey you!" She yelled and a boy with sandy blonde hair and blue eyes turned in her direction and pointed to himself confused. "Yeah you, care to dance with me?" She asked with a smile and the boy blushed before agreeing and jogging over to join her on the platform. Ryu glared at the boy standing next to Saya, but couldn't really do anything since Saya wasn't his, but that didn't mean he had to like it.

* * *

"Stop touching that scar, Xin." Gaara noticed Xin trailing her finger over her scar again. Ever since she had gotten it, she had been self-conscious about how it looked. It was an eyesore, the only scar she had on her entire body. A constant reminder of the torture she had to endure during her eventful stay in Suna.

Gaara didn't really care that it was there but he did care that she was so self-conscious about it. "It's so ugly." She mumbled in disdain, ignoring Gaara's order. She always found her way towards it and always traced it.

She thought she was a ruined beauty.

* * *

Saya smiled as she moved across the platform with the young boy whose name she'd learned was Logan . She was shocked that he seemed to be such a great dancer, but that only made the game that much more fun. Until she felt him place his hands on her hips. She tensed, but forced herself to relax and keep dancing, thinking maybe it had been an accident until the boy pulled her closer to him.

"Hey, knock it off," Saya told him as she pushed his hands away from her hips and moved to put a little bit of space between them, but the boy grabbed her hips again and was about to pull her back when Ryu showed up and grabbed his wrist and pulled it away from Saya.

"I'm almost certain she told you to stop," He said through clenched teeth. He hadn't liked the fact Saya had invited a stranger to dance with her, and the fact of how they were dancing hadn't helped. Then when this human male tried doing something to Saya that she didn't want it had pissed him off.

* * *

Gaara grabbed Xin's wrist and pulled it away from her scar. "You look fine, doll." He hummed down to her, kissing her forehead. "How can you not be bothered by this ugly thing?" Xin pouted, looking down at it.

* * *

"Get lost man." Logan said and Saya looked between him and Ryu and shivered. The look in Ryu's eyes just made her feel so...protected. She backed off and slowly eased more towards Ryu's side.

Hell, if he suddenly snapped and tried to bite this idiot's head off, she did not want to be next to him. She'd be damned if she got caught in the crossfire of Ryu's sudden anger towards her perverted dance partner.

* * *

"Why does it bother you so much?" Gaara sighed, working his arm under her head. Xin shifted and pulled her blanket further up. "For one, it's a reminder of what Sasori did to me. It's never going to go away. And two, it's just so goddamn ugly. How can it not bother you?" She huffed, lifting the blanket to stare at it.

"It doesn't change anything about you," Gaara reminded her, tangling his fingers in the mass of her hair. "It changed everything about me. It's an ugly reminder," She sourly reminded him. Gaara frowned thoughtfully before slowly nodding.

"It is a reminder, isn't it?"

* * *

"Either back off or lose an arm." Ryu warned darkly and Logan paled and turned tail and ran as soon as Ryu let him go. "Umm...Ryu?" Saya asked uncertainly since he still seemed rather upset.

She noticed they had drawn a crowd and glared at them before grabbing Ryu's hand and pulled him out of the arcade and into a somewhat deserted food court. "Ryu, say something." Saya pleaded, looking at him hoping he'd calm down.

* * *

"It reminds me to better protect you. If I protect you more, you won't get any of those scars." Gaara confessed to her. "Better protect me, huh?" Xin mumbled softly to herself, wrapping her arms around him and snuggling into his chest.

"Well, I guess that made me feel a little better," She sighed into his chest. Gaara only hummed quietly as she pressed her lips to his chest. She didn't say 'I love you' often to Gaara. And he rarely ever said it to her.

They showed one another, instead.

* * *

Ryu tried calm his breathing down but it really wasn't working out too well for him. He glanced down at their twined hands and suddenly snatched his hand away from her. "Just..." He trailed off, not exactly sure what was going on with him. His emotions were whirring crazily around in his head. All he knew was that if another male came into any kind of contact with Saya, he was going to snap.

Saya flinched like she'd been slapped when Ryu took his hand back and frowned at his reaction. "Fine, have your bitch fest. See if I give a damn." Saya snapped at him before turning and walking away. She had tried being nice to him because he'd confused her when he suddenly got so protective of her, but then he goes and acts like that. She wasn't going to deal with an emotional demon, even if he was hot and she couldn't get him out of her head.

And that was the problem with Saya, Sheera once said. She was much too stubborn for her own good. Saya did not enjoy playing with fire and then getting burned. Nope. If she got burned the first time, than that was just it. Unlike Xin, who was a fuckin' idiot and kept going back to play with the fire to see if she got burned again. Saya was too pretty to be an idiot. Okay, not that Xin wasn't pretty, cuz' she was. But...Saya was too smart.

Yeah.

Ryu took a deep breath and inhaled in his nostrils. So, he had a bad temper and a territorial problem. All demons had that problem. But Temari, his peace-loving cousin, had drilled it in his head how to control his temper because she'd be damned if he went all psycho-demon on an unsuspecting person.

And suddenly, Ryu realized Saya wasn't with him.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Hi peeps, we're back. This chapter is rather short for Tee, but for me it's a long one. Hope you enjoy, please leave a review.

* * *

"Freakin' asshole." Saya muttered to herself as she shoved her hands in the pockets of her pants and walked down the street. She spotted a park and decided she'd rather go there than back to the apartment she shared with her sisters and get yelled at for leaving when she was supposed to be 'showing' Ryu around.

She looked both ways before crossing the street and walking into the park. It wasn't a big park, just big enough for a playground for the kids and a track for those who cared enough to use it. Saya smiled slightly to herself when she saw a swing set and headed for it. She sat down and pushed off from the ground, but after a few minutes just let herself swing back and forth before stopping and looking down at her feet. The last time she'd been here was with Xin a week before graduation.

"I really hope I didn't screw things up between Xin and I." she thought with a slight frown as she stopped swinging and stared down at her feet. She really didn't want to lose her friend.

"Shit..." Ryu cursed to himself, suddenly remembering Xin's threat. He was pretty sure if he turned back to her living space without her friend or clueless about her whereabouts, the stunted miko would purify the shit out of him. Or cry. She knew Gaara would murder anything that made her cry.

Oh God, she was evil. How the hell could Saya be friends with such a woman? He would have to consult the siren about the company she kept.

But in the meantime, find the siren. That should be easy enough, right? He was a demon, after all. He was much better, smarter, better, stronger (did he mention better? well, yeah) than these silly humans and their weak senses. How the hell could Gaara stand living around such a pathetic race? He must really love that evil miko with the scary smile.

Oh, yeah. The siren.

He took one long sniff of the air and cringed. So many smells assaulted his nose at once. He smelt greasy foods the strongest. Ugh, humans were disgusting. Somewhere under all the greasy and other disgusting smells, he smelt Saya's smell. Concentrating on her (deliciousdeliciousdelious) scent, he followed after it.

Saya sighed as she remembered what happened when her and Xin were here. They had come here after ditching their last period and had both decided to race around the track to see who was the fastest, it was a tie until a boy had called out, commenting on Xin's boobs and made her friend go into her 'berserk' mode and Saya had just watched as she beat the poor idiotic boy senseless. She couldn't help but laugh slightly at the memory; so much had changed since then. Xin had changed, but so had she.

Ryu hurried down the streets, rudely pushing past people. Like he cared if they were angry with his rough handling. Ha, silly peasants. If only they knew they were in the presence of a demonic prince. They would bow at his feet. And he would laugh, because he could and they were so easy to destroy and-

He almost missed Saya sitting at the swings. He'd have to stop thinking so deeply and pay more attention to his surroundings. He could have wandered into...well...somewhere where there were more humans. He didn't know any human attractions. So, he veered off to the left and hurried to the siren. Several steps away from her, he began to slow his pace down. He didn't want her to think he was actually concerned for her. He was concerned more for himself, really.

"Why the hell did you walk away?"

Saya's head snapped up at the sound of someone's voice only for her forest green eyes to narrow when she saw Ryu. "What the hell do you care what I do anyways huh!?" She snapped back, still slightly miffed about earlier, but then she thought about how far away the park was from the arcade where she'd left him and started wondering how long he'd had to look before finding her. And the fact he didn't know much about the human world made her feel a little bad for having a temper tantrum and storming off.  
"Sorry." She mumbled, looking at her feet again.

Ryu stared down at her in shock, because quite frankly, he wasn't used to people raising their voices at him. Gaara and Temari didn't count. Temari didn't count because she was the eldest out of all of them and she was bound to yell and scold him because he was a bratty little shit after his parents passed away. And Gaara didn't count because...he's Gaara. The redhead was someone you just didn't cross.

For a minute, he thought about killing her. Yes, while she is a talented siren, he was pretty damn sure he could snap her neck faster than she could open her mouth. He did have super speed on his side, mind you. Even if she was pretty and had a lovely body, she would be killed for such insolence had they been in the demon world.

But they weren't in the demon world and he was really attracted to her. Plus, there's that whole 'crazy ass miko will sic Gaara on him if anything (and I do mean ANYTHING) happens to Saya'. So he held his tongue and breathed through his nose again.

"You're a strange woman. Are you bi-polar?" He asked innocently. He hoped she wouldn't take offense for that question but he was generally interested. How can she snap at him one second and then apologize the next?

Saya looked up at Ryu with a glare at his question. Her sisters had often wondered the same thing, and had actually taken her to get tested on more than one occasion under the ruse of going to see a doctor about Star's...hyper-ness. But if she was being honest with herself, she might actually be bi-polar.  
"Eh, possibly." She said with a shrug before looking past Ryu and up at the sky. The sun was starting to set so the sky was slowly turning from blue to different shades of orange, red, and pink. She actually liked this time of day, when it slowly changed from light to dark. It was sad and yet beautiful at the same time.

Ryu pulled at the shirt the miko had practically shoved him into before settling on the swing next to Saya. Possibly, she says. Hell no, ain't no 'possibly'; this chick was bi-polar with a dash of snarky bitch. But he wouldn't say that to her. No way was he dealing with her bitch side since she was being so...tolerant at the moment.

"What are you thinking about?"

Saya turned to look at Ryu with slightly widened eyes, coming out of her reverie and smiled just slightly. "Nothing really, just looking at the sky as it changes." She said, as she did so her eyes returned to the steadily darkening sky. It wasn't until a couple of minutes later that a thought occurred to her.  
"What do you think of the Human world? Is it much different from the Demon world?" She asked turning to look at him, slightly curious on his take of the world he was visiting.  
He's a little uncomfortable because she's actually being nice. Because well...she wasn't a nice person.

But for now, he'd humor her questions because there was nothing better to do. Well, he could destroy the human world like his Uncle Shigure wanted Gaara to do...but that was too boring. And besides, Saya would die and so would Xin. And he liked them too much to kill all of them.

"It's a lot more different. Humans are different the demons. Everything is different. It's strange. I'm not really sure that I like it. Do men actually wear clothes this tight? If I was caught dressed like this in the demon world...all hell would break loose..."

Saya listened to what Ryu said until he said the last part, and then she burst out into a fit of laughter as she imagined a bunch of demons in those weird ass robes he'd been wearing staring and gossiping about him dressed in human clothes as he walked down the street. It was just too funny a thought not to laugh. She didn't even care that Ryu was looking at her weird.

"Yeah they do, though I think Xinny might have gotten a size too small for you." She said with a smile as she finally got her laughter under control.

Ryu frowned in distaste and continued pulling at the material of the shirt. He couldn't believe that in human standards, such clothes were accepted. He would be belittled had anyone seen him like this. Gaara didn't seem to mind. Maybe he had gotten used to the miko shoving clothes at him and glaring until he slowly put them on.

"Do you think she did it on purpose? That woman is evil."  
Saya laughed again, but this time it was more of a giggle. "You don't know the half of it man. But when Xinny wants something, Xinny will get it. One way, or another." She said with a small smile, speaking from experience as she remembered the time her friend had got the oh so bright idea to see what Saya would look like in a dress. They had both fought tooth and nail about it, but in the end, Xin wound up winning.

* * *

Xin suddenly perked up and Gaara watched her quietly as she waited a couple of minutes and then sneezed. She sneezed again and then frowned. Using the sleeve of her robe, she wiped her nose and her mouth and then frowned. "Catching a cold, doll?" Gaara asked as Xin pouted.

"No, someone's talking about me," She huffed, reaching for her glass of soda. "I bet it's Sasori or your crazy ass Father. Or maybe Ryu, you think it's Ryu?" She questioned, sipping quietly. "Why would Ryu be talking about you?"

"Cuz' he totally has a crush on me."

"I sincerely doubt that."

"What? Why? Am I not pretty enough for that bastard?"

"You're pretty enough...wait...why does it matter if he even has a crush on you?"

"Because my name is Xin, dammit."

Gaara simply glared at and she only smiled. And then sneezed. "Goddammit!" She shouted at no one, her smile melting into a hard frown. "I'm going to purify the living shit out of whoever is talking about me!" She snapped loudly. "Shouldn't you be calling your sister?" Gaara distracted her.

* * *

Ryu didn't know what to think of the Siren sitting next to him. One moment she was cussing and angry, and the next she was giggly and smiling. Were all Mythicals this odd or was it simply just her?

* * *

Hinata picked up on the second ring. Like she always did. Xin smiled faintly and leaned her hip into the frame of her bedroom door. "Hinata? It's me, Xin. How have you've been doing with that knuckle head? He hasn't given you the bad touch, has he?" Xin leaned her head back and laughed. It was too funny to tease Hinata about sex.

"Course I'm just messing with you guys. I know Naruto would treat you like the princess you are," She grinned at the sound of Naruto mumbling in the background that she was a mean ol' witch and she should burn for even thinking he would wrongfully touch Hinata.

"But...I'm calling to tell you Saya and her sisters are back..." She waited as Hinata gushed; she had always been fond of Sheera and Star more than Saya. Don't get her wrong, she liked Saya just fine. But Saya and Xin were alike and two of the same thing was too much for her soft little heart.

"And Gaara's cousin, Ryu, has come to visit." She added in. She slightly jumped when she felt hands slip lazily around her waist. She glanced up to give Gaara a look. He had already had her in the shower and even dragged her to the room for another round. She wasn't doing anything until she replaced her now broken headboard and torn sheets. Sex with Gaara was too rough.

* * *

"But Xin's not all that bad." Saya suddenly said and Ryu looked at her expectantly, hoping for her to elaborate on the crazy miko his cousin had fallen for.

"Sure she's short tempered and quick to jump the gun and she's bat-shit crazy, but she's loyal as hell to her friends and will stick her neck out for someone else if she believes its the right thing to do. She's done it more times than I can count for me and even now I don't think there's any way for me to pay her back for it." She said and Ryu just stared at the Siren beside him. He could tell she held a great deal of respect and gratitude towards the crazed miko.  
"I'm sure you will find a way to...pay her back...eventually."  
He said, using the phrase she had a little unsure of what it meant exactly. Surely it didn't mean what he thought it did, since he couldn't see the Siren wanting to kill the miko.

* * *

Xin turned her face away from the phone to sneeze into the crock of her elbow. She sniffed loudly and then turned back to her phone, listening to Hinata gush about having a girl's day (no freaky demons allowed. Naruto and Gaara were offended) so they could all catch up with one another.

She wasn't sure if Saya would want to be around her long enough to catch up. Although they weren't locked in a heated argument or anything like that, the two best friends weren't really speaking to one another. Saya, because she's torn about her jealousy towards Xin and her relationship. And Xin, because she thinks Saya is being an unreasonable cry-baby. But they'd both get over it and would be busting it up soon enough.

The little miko gasped when she felt Gaara's hands wander up her breasts. With a red face, she steadily ignored his wandering hands for the conversation with Hinata. She'd just have to ignore him and his desires at the moment.

* * *

Saya was shocked at Ryu's statement, but smiled because of it. "Maybe." She said before pulling her phone out to check the time. She cursed when she saw it was almost eleven.

She shot to her feet and started pacing back and forth. "Shit, shit, shit, shit!" She cursed at her forgetfulness before turning to look back at Ryu who was looking at her like she'd lost her mind.  
"Oh don't look at me like that, I forgot I had an appointment I have to be at and I can't miss it." She explained, hoping he'd get the point and stand up so they could get going back to Xin's apartment, but still his sexy ass sat on the swing.  
"Come on!" She said as she reached out and grabbed hold of his hand, before pulling him to his feet and started running back towards her friend's apartment. It was almost eleven and her appointment was at eleven thirty and was at least three blocks away. Of all the days to forget, she had to forget when she was that far away.

* * *

Once Xin realized would not let up with his hands, she ended the call with Hinata. She promised her sister she would call her tomorrow and they could talk more about planning a day with the three mythicals that Hinata hadn't seen since Saya graduated high school.

Throwing her phone aside, Xin quickly tried to escape Gaara's grasp. "Gaara, get off of me," She huffed, pushing at his large hands. "Why? We're alone, aren't we?" He asked with eyes that clearly screamed his intentions to her. She blushed heavily and tried to wriggle out of his grasp once more.

"Yes but twice is enough, don't you think? My thighs hurt. So does my hips. And besides, your broke my headboard, you brute." Xin reminded him, pointing to the broken piece of furniture. Gaara regarded the piece for a minute before smirking.

"You were the one who kept screaming harder."

"Oh my God, SHUT UP!"

Saya sighed as she finally reached Xin's apartment. Not even bothering to knock, she kicked the door open and searched the room for her friend. Not seeing her anywhere, she took a deep breath and yelled as loud as she could without accessing her powers.

"XINNY!"

She waited a few minutes and wasn't disappointed when her friend padded into the room, though she didn't seem all too happy.

Xin took the opportunity Saya had presented to break out of Gaara's grip. She grinned widely at him and then remembered that Saya had screamed her ass off. The neighbors were going to kill her if she kept having loud outbursts like that coming from her apartment.

"Saya shut the hell up. I'm right here," She huffed, sliding into the living room with a frown. She sidled up to her best friend and checked her over for bruises. Once she saw that her friend was fine, she turned to Ryu and gave him that eerie smile that made him uncomfortable. "You've done well, Ryu."

She turned back to Saya with her hands on her hips. "Why are you screaming, Saya?"  
"No time...to explain..." Saya said, slightly out of breath from having run all the way from the park back here. "Do you still have my board in your closet?" She asked, hoping her friend still had it because there was no way in hell she could make it if she was running, but if she had her board there was still hope and maybe, just maybe, her father wouldn't kill her for almost missing her appointment.

Xin frowned thoughtfully and then slowly nodded. "It's in there somewhere," She mumbled, turning away back into her room. Gaara watched quietly as she rifled through her closest, dodging things that she would toss over her shoulder every now and then. She was going to complain once she realized the mess she's made.

"Found it!" She exclaimed, returning with the slightly aged board in her hands. She frowned down at it before shoving it into Saya's hands. She'd never understand Saya's interest in it.

"Thank Kami Xin, you're a saint!" Saya shouted with a smile before hugging her friend then grabbing the board and dropping it to the ground and hopping on.

She pushed off from the ground, and jumped over Ryu who was standing in the doorway, and landed perfectly on her board again before disappearing out the door. She kick flipped and landed on top of the railing of the stairs and balanced herself as she slid towards the ground.

She pushed off from the rail, grabbed her board mid-air, then landed in a low crouch on the ground with practiced ease, before standing back up and kicking off from the ground to gain more speed. She was not going to be late.

Xin rolled her eyes, watching Saya go. "Ugh, I fuckin' hate that thing," She rolled her eyes and plopped down on the couch. Slowly, Ryu came to sit next to her. "Why do you hate it?" He asked her, watching as his cousin came out of her bedchamber to sit on her other side.

"Because it's fuckin' dirty! You saw it," Xin huffed and promptly began naming all the reasons why she would never skateboard. Mostly because that shit would fuck her hair up and her hair is way too pretty. She wasn't rocking messy hair. Nope, she wasn't having it.


End file.
